"Carolina Hurricanes coach Kirk Muller couldn't help but smile when talking about the power play.

In a 2-1 loss Sunday to the Washington Capitals, the Canes' goal came when Anthony Stewart got the puck in front of the net to Alexei Ponikarovsky, whose attempt hit the post. Jussi Jokinen followed up to score on the rebound as forward Tim Brent and defenseman Jay Harrison worked the points.

That's not quite the way Muller and coaching staff envisioned the power play working, but it did.

"I think that's our team, to be honest with you," Muller said Monday. "I would love it if I could say, 'Here's our lineup tomorrow and here's our lineup for the next game' and then the same and the same. But we've had injuries, we've had (AHL) callups, had some maneuvering."