RALEIGH, N.C. _ So this is the way it's going to be for the Carolina Hurricanes the rest of the way.
Every game pressure-packed. No more Storm Surges at PNC Arena. Nothing but a grim focus on winning, on the finish line, on trying to reach the Stanley Cup playoffs.
After back-to-back wins last weekend over the Minnesota Wild and Montreal Canadiens, the Canes seemed playoff-bound. The odds were all highly favorable.
A loss to Washington on the road Tuesday was a downer for the Canes. But even worse for the Canes was a 3-2 loss to the Caps on Thursday at PNC Arena that clinched a playoff spot for Washington while leaving the Canes scrambling even more.
Nic Dowd's goal with 4:56 left in regulation gave the Caps a 3-2 lead, Dowd's tipping a shot by Nick Jensen past goalie Curtis McElhinney. The Caps trailed 2-1 entering the third period but quickly tied it on Jakub Vrana's goal.
Goalie Braden Holtby stood tall for the Caps (46-24-8) in the third, thwarting the Canes on a handful of scoring chances.
In an ever-tightening fight for playoff spots in the Eastern Conference, the Canes (42-28-7) went into Thursday's game in the first wild-card position, one point ahead of the Canadiens. The Columbus Blue Jackets were just below the playoff line, two points behind the Habs.
The kicker: the Canadiens and Blue Jackets were playing Thursday in Columbus.
"It's just hard to make the playoffs. It's just hard," Canes captain Justin Williams said after Thursday's morning skate. "It's hard to give yourself an opportunity to play for the best trophy. A lot of teams are feeling the same thing _ 'We gotta win, we gotta win, we gotta win.' You've got to win."
The Canes took a 2-1 lead into the third after Warren Foegele used a power move to score in the second. Taking a pass from defenseman Justin Faulk in the neutral zone, Foegele swept past Jensen, crossed in front of Holtby and banged it in for his eighth of the season.
Foegele had a big leap into the glass after scoring. And why not? For the Canes, it was a big goal.
But Vrana's goal early in the third tied it for the Caps, Vrana showing off his speed to the net.
The Caps played with admirable patience on Tuesday, allowing the Canes to be overaggressive and make mistakes in Washington's 4-1 win. But both teams were patient Thursday.
Nino Niederreiter's goal in the first was all effort. At full speed he gathered the puck off a skate, avoided Holtby and scored after falling at the post, extending to tip the puck in.
It was Niederreiter's 13th goal in 31 games with the Canes but the 1-0 lead lasted 42 seconds.
Brett Connolly scored his 22nd of the season, with a nifty toe drag in front of McElhinney and top-shelf shot.
The Caps played without forward TJ Oshie, who played and scored Tuesday but was out sick Thursday.
