WASHINGTON _ Alex Ovechkin appeared to be all but hyperventilating on the Washington Capitals bench before the game, when the national anthem was being played, twitching with nervous energy.
During pregame warmups, the Caps' Tom Wilson had been down on one knee, casting a baleful stare toward the Carolina Hurricanes end of the ice, as if sizing up how many he wanted to hit.
After losing two games to the Canes at PNC Arena, after seeing the best-of-seven playoff series tied 2-2, the Caps were all business and took care of business Saturday at Capital Open Arena in Game 5. In control from start to finish, they hammered the Canes, 6-0.
Nicklas Backstrom was his cooly efficient self for the Caps, scoring twice and adding two assists. In a series in which the team scoring first has won each game, Backstrom again scored first, banging in the rebound of his own shot on a first-period power play.
Ovechkin was Ovechkin. He had two assists as the Caps built the lead, then ripped in a shot on a power play in the third period for a 6-0 lead that made for an easy night for goalie Braden Holtby and a rough one for Canes goalie Petr Mrazek, who had allowed one goal in the past two games.
Backstrom scored again in the second period _ his fifth of the series _ as Caps took advantage of a Canes turnover, taking a pass from Ovechkin off the rush. He then had the secondary assist on Brett Connolly's goal later in the third after Ovechkin beat defenseman Dougie Hamilton to the puck behind the Canes net and set up Connolly coming had to the net.
Wilson, who had the game face on early, scored in the third. So did Nic Dowd, who successfully converted a penalty shot after being slashed by Hamilton.
It's not over yet. Not for the Canes. There will be Game 6 and it will be at PNC Arena on Monday at 7 p.m.
The Caps, determined to win a second straight Stanley Cup, will look to take the first big step toward that goal by finishing off the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series with a win. The Canes, a different team at home in winning Games 3 and 4, will be expecting another energizing lift from its home crowd.
A better power play would help the Canes just as much. The Canes were 0 for 5 on Saturday, including three punchless power plays in the second period when they trailed 1-0.
Why so woeful? The Canes were outworked by the Caps, whose penalty killers aggressively challenged every pass and got sticks on pucks.
Backstrom's power-play goal came after the center was high-sticked by the Canes' Lucas Wallmark. In the second period, the Canes' Sebastian Aho had an identical chance at the same spot on the ice, at the post, but couldn't beat Holtby off a rebound. So it went for the Canes.
The Caps were playing with extra fire Saturday after losing forward T.J. Oshie to an upper-body injury in Game 4 _ Oshie hit by Warren Foegele and crashing into the boards. The crowd broke into a loud "T.J. Oshie" chant in the third period.
The Caps called up forward Devante Smith-Pelly from Hershey of the AHL and Smith-Pelly, who had some big moments last year in the Caps' Cup run, revved up the crowd and gave his team another boost Saturday.
The Canes also were shorthanded, with forwards Andrei Svechnikov, Jordan Martinook and Micheal Ferland again missing because of injuries. Svechnikov did go through the morning skate and said he hoped to play Game 6.
Forward Aleksi Saarela made his NHL debut for the Canes after being recalled Friday from the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL, playing on a line with Greg McKegg and Patrick Brown.
