Hurricanes defenseman Sean Walker watches the replay as the Capitals celebrate a goal nearby during Washington’s 4-1 win Tuesday in Raleigh. (Karl DeBlaker / AP Photo)

RALEIGH — The Hurricanes overcame their injuries in the season’s first 15 games by avoiding self-inflicted mistakes.

That wasn’t the case Tuesday.

The Hurricanes carelessly turned the puck over, took untimely penalties, and even ran into and knocked their own goalie out of the game in a 4-1 loss to the Capitals at Lenovo Center.

“Tough turnovers all over the ice,” Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho said.

Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour put it nearly as succinctly.

“You can’t beat yourself, especially against a good team,” he said.

And while Washington deserved credit, the Hurricanes found ways to dig holes and throw dirt on top of themselves throughout the loss.

In both the first and third periods, Carolina came out with a strong start only to have a penalty — both times by defenseman K’Andre Miller — swing momentum in the Capitals’ favor.

After Miller’s first penalty, Carolina killed the power play but soon after allowed Washington to take a lead it would never relinquish.

After two failed clears by Carolina, Ethen Frank got the puck at the left faceoff circle, drove the net and passed to the far post where Brandon Duhaime tapped the puck into an open net to make it 1-0 at 5:42 of the opening period.

“(There were) a bunch of those tonight where we didn’t get the clear,” Brind’Amour said, “and you can’t give any team second and third looks.”

Then after dominating the opening shift of the third while down 2-1, Miller was called for a second trip. The Capitals again capitalized, this time on the power play, to extend their lead.

Washington rookie Ryan Leonard fired a shot in the slot that Frederik Andersen (24 saves) stopped, but Jakob Chychrun quickly deposited the rebound into the net at 5:46.

To make matters worse, with just over five minutes left in the game, Carolina captain Jordan Staal collided with Andersen in the crease. Andersen stayed on the ice momentarily but appeared to be staying in the game. But he then left the ice, and Brind’Amour acknowledged that he was called off by the game’s concussion spotter.

The lone bright spot for the Hurricanes was their second line. Nikolaj Ehlers extended his point streak to five games with Carolina’s lone goal, a rebound off a Jackson Blake shot at 13:56 of the second period.

And in the first period, Logan Stankoven came to the aid of Blake and dropped the gloves with Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary for his career fight.

Stankoven came away with a few stitches over his right eye but seemed to get the better of Fehervary in the scrap.

“I honestly enjoyed it,” Stankoven said. “So I don’t know if I should do it again or not, but sometimes you’ve got to step up for teammates and stand your ground.”

Brind’Amour credited him and Blake with trying to drag the team into the battle all night.

“He’s not going to back down, we know that,” Brind’Amour said of Stankoven. “He’s a tough kid.”

Washington’s Logan, goaltender Thompson, was even better, continuing his hot run with 30 saves to help end Carolina’s four-game winning streak.

“I think they played a good game and, obviously, we were nowhere near where we need to be,” Aho said.

Notes: Jalen Chatfield and Jaccob Slavin remained out with injuries. Gavin Bayreuther, Brandon Bussi and Mark Jankowski were healthy extras. … Carolina’s power play went 0 for 5. … Andersen’s record dropped to 5-4-0 on the season.