At times last night, it took all six Carolina players on the ice to deny the Caps.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Cam Ward probably won’t be sending Alexander Semin a Christmas card anytime soon.

Semin, who scored two game-winning goals against Carolina last year (including one against Ward), had two goals Friday to lead the Capitals to a 4-3 win at Verizon Center over the Hurricanes. Mike Green scored the game-winning goal for the Caps in overtime.

Despite being out-shot 14 to 4 in the first period, Carolina led 2-0 after twenty minutes on goals by Erick Staal and Jiri Tlusty (his first of the season). Bruce Boudreau eventually switched Semin back to the Caps’ first line with Ovechkin and Backstrom in place of Mike Knuble, who played in his first game since suffering a broken finger Nov. 13. Semin’s second goal came with literally one second left in the second period.

“We weren’t getting anything done, and I was a little worried because it was Mike’s first game back,” Boudreau said. “I thought, at least these guys, they like playing with each other. They might generate something. And they did, and it rubbed off for about four shifts in a row.”

“We were playing at home in front of our own fans,” Semin said, with Dmitry Chesnokov translating. “There was nothing else to do but just start playing great and start shooting.”

Boudreau also credited the Caps’ notorious ‘Unleash the Fury’ video, played on the jumbotron during home games, with infusing some energy into the arena during the second period.

“It got the crowd into it, which was a tremendous, a tremendous thing, because we were dead emotionally, I think,” Boudreau said.