The Carolina Hurricanes look like world beaters as of late, and you know, that's to be expected from the defending Stanley Cup champions.

The Canes defeated the Washington Capitals 4-2 to extend their win streak to six games and it was again a full-team effort that pushed them over the edge.

Here are five takeaways from the win:

The Hurricanes and Capitals were playing things pretty even through the first 30 minutes, with Washington perhaps having the better share of looks overall, but the Canes completely flipped the script after that.

Shots in the game were 15-14 Washington halfway through by the end of the game, the Hurricanes had a 35-22 advantage in that department.

In terms of total 5v5 shot share, Carolina outchanced the Capitals 43-15 through the final two periods, scoring all four of their goals in that span too.

It was a really impressive showing for the Hurricanes, especially considering that Washington is a very talented team who beat the Canes just two weeks earlier and also the fact that Carolina was dealing with an additional two injury blows, including one midgame. 

"I just thought after the [first] intermission, we regrouped and the guys came out with a real good game after that," said Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour.

"We just had to get to our game," said Mark Jankowski. "It was a slow start. We didn't really start on time there. But once we got to our game, we're getting pucks behind them, we’re spending more time in the O-zone, less in the D-zone. So once we were able to get to our game, it felt like we turned it a little bit."

The loss of Jordan Staal isn't a small one for the Hurricanes.

The veteran captain is an integral part of the team's identity from his role as a shutdown center, to the heavy game he plays, to the faceoff wins, to his spot on the top power play and penalty kill.

He does everything for Carolina and there's really no replacing that impact.

However, Mark Jankowski is doing his best to fill those big shoes.

"Conn Smythe shoes to fill," Jankowski said. "We fill that by committee. Not one guy is going to do what Jordo can do, and obviously, it's a big loss for us on and off the ice."

Jankowski is slotting in as the third line center alongside Nikolaj Ehlers and Jordan Martinook, taking shifts on the top penalty kill (he led all forwards in shorthanded ice time on Tuesday) and was out there for the final defensive zone faceoff with the team defending a one-goal lead.

He's getting trusted with a big boost in responsibilities and so far, he's been handling them admirably.

"You talk about making the most of your opportunity," Brind'Amour said. "I feel like this guy just from Day 1, he said, "Okay. It's a new team," and kind of reinvented himself a little bit. He's done nothing but play well. It's nice to see guys who actually get that chance take advantage of it and we need it obviously with who we've got out of the lineup."

Oh and on top of all that, he's also scored five goals in five straight games.

"I've gotten a few that have gone past the goalie," Jankowski said. "A lot of these goals, my linemates are making great plays, and I’ve just got the job to put it in."

Goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov is off to a tremendous start to his 2026-27 season.

The 27-year-old is 4-0-0 to start the year, posting a 0.911 save percentage and 1.73 goals against average in that span.

What makes it even more impressive is that these are Kochetkov's first NHL games since December of last year.

The Russian netminder underwent hip surgery last season and so he hadn't seen actual NHL action in nearly 10 months.

However, he's jumped right back into things and looks like a guy that can be counted on night in and night out.

"There's another guy that we have a lot of high hopes for," Brind'Amour said. "Injuries and things have kind of hampered that a little, but the talent is there and we're certainly seeing it these last few games. That's the most important position. If we can get that play out of him, we'll be in good shape."

His game against Washington was really good, making 20 of 22 saves, and I thought his rebound control was perhaps one of his most impressive attributes in the win.

But his best moment was by far the save on Ilya Protas late in the first period. With the Hurricanes on a 5v3 penalty kill, Kochetkov got across to hold his post on the Washington forward and kept multiple speared at attempts from getting across the goal line. 

"Big save there at the end of the first period," said winger Andrei Svechnikov. "If they had scored that one it would have gone a different way, but just big saves all over the ice. He's just going to keep doing that."

After winning six games in a row, the Carolina Hurricanes sit at the top of league standings with 13 points. They rank second overall in terms of points percentage (0.812).

It's been a full team effort up and down the lineup, with guys chipping in on every line, a near perfect penalty kill and wins from both netminders, but the top guys have been especially noticeable for Carolina.

With a two-goal, three-point night on Tuesday, Andrei Svechnikov moved into a tie for the fifth most goals in the league (6) and the eighth most points (11).

Sebastian Aho also picked up two assists on the evening, putting him third in the entire league for points (13).

Pyotr Kochetkov is tied for second in total wins by a goalie (4) and the team's penalty kill ranks second in the league as well (93.3%).

So all in all, things are going pretty well for the champs.

Veteran forward Taylor Hall exited Tuesday's game early, taking his last shift in the second period before being ruled out due to an upper-body injury.

Hall didn't initially come out for the second period and his shift was only an 11 second spin after hopping onto the ice for an offensive zone faceoff while Carolina was on the power play.

After losing the draw and seeing the puck cleared down, Hall went straight to the bench and looked to be in obvious discomfort.

While there was no definite play that injured him, he did take a good amount of contact by a hit from Justin Sourdif with a little over five minutes to go in the first period.

Hall played out that shift and even took another a little bit later, but both were fairly short lived.

Rod Brind'Amour didn't have an update on Hall after the game, but said that it "didn't look good."

Carolina is already down two forwards in Seth Jarvis and Jordan Staal, so losing another top-nine forward would certainly be a blow for the team.

"It sucks to see injuries, no matter who it is but you kind of have to have that next-man-up mentality a little bit," said Jackson Blake. "[Jordan Staal and Taylor Hall] are two key players for our team, but we can't use it as an excuse or anything. We’ve got to go out there and still compete and try to win."

As a final note, this was Alex Ovechkin's last game in Lenovo Center, as the Washington Capitals captain announced that this will be his final year in the NHL.

Ovie has long been a thorn in the side of Hurricanes fans and he certainly liked scoring in Raleigh, having scored 33 goals and 59 points across 49 games on the road against Carolina, more than any other opponent.

But the crowd at Lenovo Center did give him a standing ovation during a stoppage in play, a nod to all the battles they have had and the impact he has made on the game.

"Always nice to play Ovie," Svechnikov said. "Just what a legend. Especially for me as a Russian guy to play against him. It's a special moment every time we end up on the ice together."

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