WASHINGTON (AP) Carolina is a long shot to make the playoffs. Coach Bill Peters is still looking for a strong finish for the Hurricanes.Justin Faulk scored midway through the second period Youth Matthew Tkachuk Jersey , and Carolina beat the Washington Capitals 4-1 on Friday night to remain in the postseason race.It was the fourth win in five games for the Hurricanes, who haven’t made the playoffs since 2009. Carolina must win its final four games while Florida and New Jersey lose their remaining games in regulation to play beyond the regular season.Asked if the playoffs were a realistic goal, Peters answered tersely: ”No.” But Peters believes there are genuine incentives for his team.”You’ve got to play,” he said. ”These guys are pros. You’re paid to play.”Metropolitan Division-leading Washington had won five in a row. Michal Kempny scored his first goal with the Capitals after he was acquired in a February trade with Chicago.”We’ve been playing great the last month,” Capitals forward Devante Smith-Pelly said. ”I don’t want to say this was expected, but a game like this maybe was going to happen eventually. It was probably better tonight than Sunday.”Washington visits Pittsburgh on Sunday, and the teams have a long history.”Overall, obviously we don’t like those guys,” Smith-Pelly said. ”It’s a huge game. We’ll be back.”Carolina goaltender Scott Darling stopped 20 shots, and Braden Holtby had 26 saves for Washington.Capitals coach Barry Trotz thought his team was simply outplayed.”This league is way too good if you have a little bit of an off-night or you’re not on your `A’ game Michael Frolik Jersey , this league can humble you in a very hard way and a quick way,” Trotz said. ”We didn’t have enough invested. We didn’t have enough guys pulling on the rope.”Kempny put the Capitals in front at 2:35 of the second, but Carolina’s Derek Ryan quickly responded. He beat Holtby for his 14th goal at 3:15.”There’s pride on the line,” Ryan said. ”We’re not quite in the playoff race. We’re not eliminated, but we realize where we’re at. We’re just continuing to play our game. We’re not thinking about it. We have four games, so we’re going to make those games count.”Faulk’s eighth goal of the season put the Hurricanes ahead to stay at 11:43. It was Faulk’s first goal since he scored three times in a 7-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Feb. 13.Sebastian Aho’s 28th goal at 14:36 of the third made it 3-1, and Brock McGinn added an empty-netter at 17:50.NOTES: Trotz said he enjoyed the story of emergency goalie Scott Foster’s outstanding performance for Chicago on Thursday night. Trotz doesn’t know who the Capitals’ emergency goalies are. ”I just know that we have them,” Trotz said. ”Someone has a phone book with numbers. If you need a goalie, you start phoning. … I’d like to meet them, just not on our bench.” … Washington F Lars Eller played in his 600th career game. . Capitals F T.J. Oshie Authentic Mikael Backlund Jersey , who had an assist on Kempny’s goal, logged just 14 minutes of playing time, his lowest since Dec. 30. Trotz said Oshie was being checked for an injury, but wouldn’t comment on its specifics. … Carolina D Jaccob Slavin had two assists.UP NEXTHurricanes: Host New York Rangers on SaturdayCapitals: Visit Pittsburgh on Sunday— RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Sebastian Aho has earned a point in every game this season. So have the Carolina Hurricanes.It adds up to the best start since the team left Hartford.Aho had a goal and an assist, and the Hurricanes beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-3 on Tuesday night for their third straight win.Warren Foegele scored an important insurance goal in the third period, Andrei Svechnikov, Jordan Staal and Brett Pesce also scored and Teuvo Teravainen had two assists.“I think we’ve had a good start as a line,” Aho said.And as a team, too. They helped the Eastern Conference-leading Hurricanes improve to 3-0-1 — their most productive start since the move from Hartford in 1997 — under new coach and former team captain Rod Brind’Amour. They earned points in their first four games for the first time since 1994-95 Mike Smith Jersey , when they were still the Whalers and opened 4-0-1.“It’s fun, right?” Foegele said. “High-scoring games, a bunch of young guys in here keeping it young, too. The group’s been good, and that’s what you want to see.”Sven Baertschi had two goals and an assist, and Bo Horvat scored on the power play for rebuilding Vancouver, which has lost the first two games of its six-game trip.Curtis McElhinney made 22 saves for the Hurricanes while Jacob Markstrom stopped 28 shots for the Canucks in a game in which the first seven goals were scored in the opening 23 minutes, 24 seconds and the defenses tightened up before Foegele scored with 6:12 left to restore Carolina’s two-goal advantage.“It’s always good to see when you have a lead and you continue to bring it to them,” Staal said. “That’s kind of been the way we wanted to play.”Vancouver has been outscored 12-7 during its two-game losing streak.“If you score seven in two games, if you score seven in three games Sean Monahan Jersey , I would like to get three wins,” Markstrom said. “We’ve got to be better goalies, better (defensemen), better everything, better defense, and we get our goals but right now, today, I was not good. It’s frustrating.”Aho, who has points in all four games, put Carolina up 3-1 after taking a slick touch pass from Ferland and beating Markstrom from close range with 2:09 left in the first.“The usual — he creates some space and makes a play TJ Brodie Jersey , and makes a really nice pass to me,” Aho said of Ferland. “I think I had a pretty easy shot to put the puck in.”After Horvat pulled the Canucks within a goal in the opening minute of the second period, Svechnikov restored the two-goal lead when he crashed the net and stuffed in a rebound — giving the rookie points in three of his four career games.Baertschi’s first goal tied it at 1 at 6:12 after a long pass from Alexander Edler set up a partial breakaway chance. His second came on the power play at 3:24 of the second and pulled the Canucks to 4-3, capping a furious stretch in which the teams combined for three goals in a span of 2:38.NOTES: Vancouver rookie C Elias Pettersson, who assisted on Baertschi’s second goal, has six points in his first three games. … D Haydn Fleury was in the Carolina lineup for the first time after he was a healthy scratch in each of first three games. Trevor van Riemsdyk was scratched instead. … LW Tim Schaller and D Ben Hutton made their season debuts for Vancouver.UP NEXTCanucks: Continue their six-game road swing Thursday night at Tampa Bay.Hurricanes: Begin a three-game road trip Saturday night at Minnesota.