WASHINGTON — Tom Wilson scored again before being ejected, Nicklas Backstrom had a hat trick and the Washington Capitals beat the New Jersey Devils 6-3 on Friday night to extend the defending Stanley Cup champions’ winning streak to seven games.

Wilson scored his seventh goal in nine games since coming back from a lengthy suspension, extending his career-best goal streak to five games and point streak to seven. The short-handed goal gives Wilson 13 points, but a hit on New Jersey’s Brett Seney late in the second period put him back in the spotlight for the wrong reason.

After Seney released the puck and it had gone into the corner late in the second period, Wilson skated up from behind and hit him with his left shoulder. Wilson was assessed a match penalty for an illegal check to the head, which carries with it an automatic suspension that the NHL must review.

Wilson, who was given a 20-game suspension that was reduced to 14 for an illegal check to the head in the preseason finale, could avoid being suspended this time. After review, he did not make principal contact to Seney’s head, it did not look like a predatory play and Seney returned at the start of the third.

PANTHERS 3, SABRES 2: Aleksander Barkov scored at 2:26 of overtime as host Florida sent Buffalo its second loss in two nights following a 10-game winning streak.

DUCKS 2, HURRICANES 1: Ryan Getzlaf scored at 1:17 of overtime as Anaheim won at Raleigh, North Carolina.

NOTES

HURRICANES: The Hurricanes sent goalie Scott Darling, a former UMaine player, to their AHL affiliate in Charlotte and say forward Valentin Zykov has been claimed on waivers by the Edmonton Oilers.

FLYERS: Former general manager Ron Hextall said he was stunned the Flyers fired him this week, despite their losing record.

Hextall, a former Flyers goalie, was fired Monday after four seasons on the job.

“I didn’t see this coming in any way,” Hextall said Friday. “I was shocked. I was stunned, yeah.”

The Flyers (10-12-2) are last in the Eastern Conference.