RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Washington Capitals keep picking up victories and points. The problem: So is just about everyone else in the brutal Metropolitan Division.Washington earned its sixth straight win by beating the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 on Friday night after T.J. Oshie and Evgeny Kuznetsov scored in the shootout.Four of the divisions top five teams -- including Washington -- entered Friday night on winning streaks of five or more games.I think more important than the six games, we want the point, Oshie said. We can see the standings -- theyre posted up in the room -- but were working on our game right now. We had a tough start, and were building our identity each night. I think the points are following that because were playing some good hockey, so we want to continue that and the points, I think, will follow.Oshie also scored the tying goal on a deflection with 6:04 left, Alex Ovechkin scored his team-leading 14th goal and Justin Williams also scored for the Capitals, who improved to 1-2 in shootouts this season and earned points for the seventh consecutive game.We seem to have won six straight just to keep pace with the division, Williams said. It is what it is, and its good competitiveness, and its something that, as athletes, we enjoy.Teuvo Teravainen had a goal and an assist, Jeff Skinner and Justin Faulk scored and rookie Sebastian Aho had two assists, but the Hurricanes had their seven-game home winning streak snapped.I thought both teams had a lot of good chances, Carolina coach Bill Peters said. It wasnt for a lack of chances for us. ... I liked the effort, I really did.Oshie beat Cam Ward high on Washingtons first attempt in the shootout, and after Jaccob Slavin hit the post with a backhand to start the second round, Kuznetsov put a backhand high past Ward to end it.Ward made 23 saves for the Hurricanes, who fell to 1-4 in shootouts this season.Philipp Grubauer stopped 27 shots for Washington, which trailed for most of the third period after Teravainen put Carolina up just 40 seconds in by redirecting in Ahos shot.Oshie tied it when he deflected a blast by Dmitry Orlov past Ward late in the period.Orlov made a great, great shot there -- you tip them and hope they get a good bounce, Oshie said. And I got a fortunate one.Ovechkin pulled Washington even at 1 when he beat Ward high from the circle on a rush. The Hurricanes had killed 17 of their previous 18 penalties on home ice before that goal.After Williams put the Capitals up 2-1, Faulk tied it 2:18 later when he took a slick pass from Aho on a 2-on-1 and beat Grubauer.That came after Skinner got his third goal this week and fourth in four home games when he slipped a loose puck past Grubauer for a 1-0 lead 5:46 in.Game notes Washington D Matt Niskanen had two assists. ... The Capitals have scored a power-play goal in six of their last seven games. ... Kuznetsov set up Williams goal, giving him assists in six straight games. ... Hurricanes C Jordan Staal rang the post midway through the third period. ... Carolinas home winning streak started with a 5-1 win over Washington on Nov. 12. The Capitals arent scheduled to return to Raleigh this season.UP NEXTCapitals: Washington returns home to play Atlantic Division leader Montreal on Saturday night.Hurricanes: They play host to Buffalo on Saturday night in the third game of a four-game homestand. Andrew Miller Cardinals Jersey . Brandon Morrow allowed five runs on six hits over three innings. He struck out two, walked one and hit a batter. Edwin Encarnacion had a two-out, bases loaded two-RBI double in the third inning. Kolten Wong Jersey . The Dutchmans tenure got off to a poor start when referee Guido Winkmann awarded a penalty within two minutes for Niklas Starks clumsy challenge on Alexandru Maxim. http://www.authenticcardinalspro.com/cardinals-keith-hernandez-jersey/ . "Were just throwing s--- at the wall hoping something sticks," said Tortorella about the possible line combinations for Fridays game against Columbus. The Canucks have lost five straight games and six of their last seven, leaving them in a logjam in the Pacific Division, currently sitting fifth - good for ninth in the Western Conference. Enos Slaughter Jersey . Having already announced that the race will start May 9 with three stages in Northern Ireland and Ireland and finish in Trieste on June 1, the rest of the route was unveiled Monday. Harrison Bader Jersey . LOUIS -- Rookie Tavon Austin has missed another day of practice, lessening the odds hell be ready for the St. METAIRIE, La. -- Saints safety Kenny Vaccaro takes little consolation from how close three of New Orleans four losses have been.Hes not ready to throw in the towel on the season. But he wants teammates to demand better of themselves and not get caught putting a positive spin on things by saying they could have won those close games if just a few plays had turned out differently.Nobody blows anybody out anymore. Every team that lost is answering questions, `Well, these three plays, Vaccaro said. You cant have those three plays if you want to win. The good teams eliminate those penalties and eliminate those mistakes.The Saints lost their first game by one point after a defensive pass-interference call on a fourth-down play allowed Oakland to continue a late drive that ended with a touchdown and bold 2-point conversion for the win.New Orleans lost its second game on a last-second field goal by the Giants, whose only touchdown came on the return of a blocked Saints field goal attempt.And on Sunday, an interception for a touchdown on Drew Brees deflected pass, the recovery of Saints running back Mark Ingrams fumble inside the Kansas City 10-yard line and defensive tackle Nick Fairleys late personal foul away from the ball all helped sink the Saints in a 6-point loss.Its three games where theres really been pivotal times where we had the opportunity to win, veteran safety Roman Harper said. Were just finding ways to lose games. ... These things will continue to happen if we dont accept the fact that we have to change.Fortunately for the Saints, they play in the NFC South, a division in which no team has pulled away. Atlanta has dropped two straight to fall to 4-3 and Tampa Bay has won two straight but sits at 3-3. Carolina is 1-5. So the Saints (2-4) are 1+ games off the division lead with 10 to play, starting against Seattle in the Superdome on Sunday.After starting 0-3, New Orleans appeared to have righted itself with victories over San Diego and Carolina.Trustt me.dddddddddddd Everybody in this city was ready to jump on the bandwagon if wed have won three straight, Harper said. Talents not an issue for this team. I think thats the most frustrating part, is that were a really good team. It doesnt always look like it on paper, but performance-wise and some of the things that were doing are what really good teams do.For the most part, New Orleans offense has looked elite. If not for his somewhat fluky interception, Brees would have had a stellar statistical line, completing 77 percent of his passes for 367 yards and three touchdowns. Meanwhile, coach Sean Payton said he thought New Orleans defense played one of its better games in Kansas City. Yet that units task became harder because of two Saints turnovers -- one resulting in a Chiefs TD, while the other almost certainly prevented New Orleans from scoring.One on hand, Payton wants to maintain a positive, optimistic vibe in the locker room. But the coach also said he found it disturbing that his team gave itself a chance to win a third straight game on Sunday, only to squander it with pivotal mistakes.You have to be brutally honest with your team, Payton said. Our margin for error is different with this team. We are going to play in these close games. Youre going to bat .500 if youre making the same type of mistakes.Game notes Starting CB Delvin Breaux, who fractured his fibula in the regular-season opener, said he went through individual cornerback drills on the field Monday and came away encouraged. I feel amazing, Breaux said, but stopped short of forecasting when hed return to the lineup. Its up to the trainers and the coaches, and of course, me. Were just being patient, taking it one day at a time and working. We should be out there soon.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '