Washington Capitals 3, Carolina Hurricanes 3 FINAL OT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) _ Craig Adams and Jason Doig exchanged punches on the ice, then went to the penalty box and yelled at each other through the glass.

In a game between the worst teams in the Southeast Division, the Carolina Hurricanes and the Washington Capitals made sure everyone got their money's worth Thursday night.

Pavel Brendl scored late in the third period to lift the Hurricanes into a 3-3 tie in a game marked by hard hits, numerous penalties, ejections and several on-ice tussles.

``It's obvious that there's a strong dislike for each other,'' Carolina's Sean Hill said. ``That can make for exciting games, I guess.''

Hill and Marty Murray each scored for the Hurricanes, who are 0-5-2 in their last seven home games. Kevin Weekes had 18 saves for Carolina, which outshot Washington 41-21.

Jeff Halpern had a goal and an assist for the Capitals, who had won the previous four meetings this season. Anson Carter and Mike Grier each added goals, while Olaf Kolzig had 38 saves.

The teams combined for 25 penalties, 17 coming in the second period. Washington's Darcy Verot and Carolina's Bruno St. Jacques received game misconduct penalties for their part in the Adams-Doig fight at 4:45 of the second period.

``These games are intense, they're emotional,'' Carter said. ``There's a lot of 1-on-1 battles in there that are being hard-fought by both teams.''

Carolina hasn't beaten Washington since taking a 3-1 win on Feb. 14, 2003. The Capitals had won five straight meetings since, including four this season by a combined score of 18-6.

The Hurricanes seemed particularly focused Thursday on Doig, who was suspended two games for kneeing Kevyn Adams during the Capitals' 5-3 win on Jan. 29. Adams' left knee was injured and he has been placed on injured reserve.

The Capitals' defenseman was involved in several scraps and was whistled for three penalties and a five-minute major for the fight with Craig Adams.

Carter put the Capitals ahead 3-2 with a power-play goal. Standing in front of the crease, Halpern flipped the puck back to Carter on the left goal line while battling for position.

Carter beat Weekes, who had come out when the puck was in front of net, at 8:03 of the third.

Brendl answered with his fourth goal of the season, grabbing a rebound off a shot from Eric Staal and putting it in at 14:57.

Both goaltenders came up with big saves late in the game and in overtime to preserve the tie.

``We had lots of possession time, lots of Grade-A scoring opportunities and no results,'' Carolina coach Peter Laviolette said. ``It's frustrating.''

Carolina dominated the second period and took a 2-1 lead on Hill's straightaway shot on the power play. The Hurricanes swarmed around the net, outshooting the Capitals 16-3, and would have led by more if not for Kolzig.

The netminder turned away close shots by Jeff O'Neill, Justin Williams and Niclas Wallin in the period to keep Washington in it.

The Capitals tied it when a shot by Peter Bondra bounced off the skate of Halpern, ricocheted off Weekes and went in the net. Halpern was credited with the power-play goal at 16:59 of the period.

``Obviously when you have a lead late in a hockey game on the road, you'd definitely like to shut the team down,'' Kolzig said. ``We didn't play our best in the second period and I thought we came out a lot better in the third.''