Capitals center's hit on Hurricanes' goaltender sparks melee in Washington's win

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The Washington Capitals took home a bruising victory against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night, 4-1, behind Jakob Chychrun’s 100th career goal and Alex Ovechkin’s empty-netter.

But Washington had to fight for it.

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Frederik Andersen #31 of the Carolina Hurricanes goes after Nic Dowd #26 of the Washington Capitals after a collision during the first period at Lenovo Center on Nov. 11, 2025 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Josh Lavallee/NHLI via Getty Images)

A brawl broke out between the teams with five minutes to go in the first period. Capitals center Nic Dowd barreled through Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen behind the net. Andersen went down and Hurricanes players came after Dowd to answer for the knock.

The incident sparked multiple scrums across the ice. Once the officials got the game under control, 18 minutes of penalties were doled out. There were 22 penalty minutes given in the entire first period.

The game settled down after that. Dylan Strome netted his fifth goal of the season to put Washington up 2-0. The Hurricanes got one back thanks to a Nikolaj Ehlers score, but it would be the only time the horn rang for Carolina in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen (31) stands next to an official after receiving a penalty for roughing during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals in Raleigh, North Carolina, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

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Chychrun’s milestone score came in the third period and