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Final Score: Carolina 3 - Ottawa 4

Ottawa, ON (Sports Network) - Alex Kovalev scored the game-winner in the shootout as the Ottawa Senators clinched a playoff spot with a 4-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.

Kovalev was the first shooter and he roofed a backhand past Manny Legace. Ray Whitney and Jussi Jokinen both missed the net, with Daniel Alfredsson getting stopped between their shots, and Jason Spezza sealed the win as he went backhand to forehand to stuff the puck into the net for the win.

Ottawa came into the game needing a point to become the fifth team in the Eastern Conference to clinch a playoff spot. The team now has 91 points and sits in fifth place.

Erik Karlsson scored twice, Anton Volchenkov scored once and Spezza added three assists for the Senators, who have won six straight. Brian Elliott made 28 stops in the win.

"There was a lot of back-and-forth in this game, and overall we controlled the game," said Karlsson.

Brandon Sutter, Jamie McBain and Chad Larose each had a goal for the Hurricanes, who have won three of four coming in. Legace finished the game with 32 stops.

"This team has too much heart to just give up on the season," said Legace. "It's unfortunate -- we should've had two points tonight."

After giving up the tying goal early in the third, Carolina took a 3-2 lead at the 7:04 mark of the frame thanks to Sutter's 21st of the season.

Ottawa got Elliott out of the net for the extra attacker late in the frame and the move paid off as Spezza won a right circle faceoff back to Karlsson, who blasted a shot that went off the glove of Legace and in with 7.9 seconds left.

With time winding down in the first period, Ottawa took a 1-0 lead as Spezza sent a pass from behind the net to the slot where Volchenkov's one-timer sailed past Legace with 11.9 seconds left.

Carolina got on the board 5:44 into the second when McBain fired a shot on net from the right point that hit off of a Senator and snuck past Elliott.

Carolina then took a 2-1 lead with 4:30 left in the second stanza. A turnover in the Ottawa end was grabbed by Eric Staal, who fired a pass to the slot where Larose wristed it into the left corner.

Ottawa tied the game 1:49 into the third period as Karlsson's wrister in the slot went over Legace's glove for his third goal of the year.