WASHINGTON — Thursday was a true test for the Washington Capitals. With the regular season winding down and Alex Ovechkin's chasing days behind him, the focus shifted back to gearing up for the playoffs and getting back to top form.

There were flashes of impressive play from the Capitals, and ultimately, D.C. turned things around and was able to finish the job in the shootout, 5-4.

Here are all the takeaways from the win, which helped the Capitals clinch the Eastern Conference.

Ovechkin's Physicality, Power Play Spark Capitals After Slow Start

The Capitals by no means got off to the start they wanted to against the Hurricanes, going down 2-0 early in the first and being outshot 16-5 after 20 minutes of play.

Carolina got on the board just under six minutes in, with Logan Stankoven converting shortly after the power play expired. Then, just under two later, Jackson Blake drove to the net, and though Charlie Lindgren initially made the stop, Tom Wilson pushed Blake into Lindgren while backchecking, leading to Lindgren and the puck ending up in the back of the net.

Pierre-Luc Dubois gave the team some life at the end of the frame with a power-play goal, setting a new career high in points (64). From there, Capitals went to the room to regroup and get back to their game plan.

They didn't disappoint in the second, as Alex Ovechkin set the tone, throwing his weight around and landing four hits in one shift on a power play to help Dylan Strome eventually tie the game. In the midst of the chaos, Ovechkin extended his point streak to six games with the assist on Strome's goal.

Ovechkin throwing his weight around and the success on the man advantage, which has now found twine for six straight games, sparked an impressive second period for Washington that set the team up for two points.

Dowd, Wilson Finish Off Second-Period Surge

With the game tied at 2, the Capitals turned the tide quickly in their favor, and Nic Dowd's line would give the team a 3-2 lead, with Dowd finishing off a give-and-go with Brandon Duhaime and putting the puck in so fast that the goal light never went off.

Dowd's strike was his 14th of the season, as he set a new single-season career high in goals (14) and points (16).

Minutes later, Wilson stepped up, pouncing on a loose puck and driving to the crease before putting home his own rebound to give D.C. a two-goal lead. It marked his 33rd goal of the season, the second-most on the team, and he now has points in four of his last six overall.

Capitals Can't Hold Off Carolina, But Win In Shootout

Washington's defense was also in for a tough night, with top defenseman Jakob Chychrun a late scratch due to illness.

Lindgren, making his third straight start with Logan Thompson injured, was under fire early and often, and made a handful of good saves to keep D.C. in it, and the team also did a much better job tightening up the second.

However, the defense played a bit fast and loose in the third, and the team surrendered two goals, with Jordan Martinook's point shot beating Lindgren from long range and Seth Jarvis tying things up with 1:45 left in regulation after a blocked empty-net attempt for Ovechkin.

Ultimately, Lindgren came up huge in the shootout, and Dubois had the shootout winner en route to the victory.

Duhaime Addresses Chatfield To Settle Bad Blood, Unfinished Business From Last Game

The last time these two teams met, they combined for a whopping 114 penalty minutes in the final 7:02 minutes of regulation, and Jalen Chatfield was at the center of it all after a questionable takedown of Connor McMichael.

Washington wanted the focus to be on getting back on track after losses in five of the last seven games, rather than on the bad blood that boiled over. Still, Brandon Duhaime wasn't going to let Chatfield skate without answering the bell.

Duhaime and Chatfield dropped the gloves early, with Duhaime quickly taking down the Hurricanes blueliner, settling all that drama that boiled over.