Marc Staal, Colin White and Aleksander Barkov each had a second-period goal, and the visiting Florida Panthers won 6-3 over the Washington Capitals on Thursday night.
Defenseman Gustav Forsling opened the scoring and Carter Verhaeghe recorded two assists for the Panthers, who like the Capitals, are vying for a wild-card spot in the crowded Eastern Conference.
However, with Florida ahead 4-1, late power-play goals from Washington’s Nicklas Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov made things interesting until Anton Lundell (two assists) and Sam Reinhart added empty-netters for the visitors.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 28 saves to win for the fourth time in five starts for Florida, which has won five of the last seven.
Meanwhile, Dylan Strome also scored and Erik Gustafsson had three assists for Washington, which has dropped three straight — all at home — amid a 6-10-0 rut. The Capitals were playing their second straight game without superstar Alex Ovechkin, following the death of his father.
With 10:50 remaining in the opening period, Forsling got Florida on the board first with his snap shot from the edge of the circle. Washington, meanwhile, was held to just six shots on goal through the first 20 minutes.
In the second, the Capitals came out more aggressive from an offensive standpoint with two quick shots on target, but it was the Panthers who padded their advantage. Staal’s drive from just inside the blue line made it past some net-front traffic and past Washington netminder Darcy Kuemper (30 saves) just 1:32 into the middle frame. White made it 3-0 after taking a well-feathered pass from Lundell to break free and successfully deke Kuemper with 12:40 remaining in the second.
Washington finally broke through with 4:09 left in the second when Strome redirected T.J. Oshie’s shot by a screened Bobrovsky. But 1:12 later, Florida regained its three-goal edge as Barkov kept the puck via a two-on-one to convert his 16th goal.
Backstrom made things interesting with 6:56 remaining in regulation when his power-play shot deflected off Staal’s stick, and through the legs of Bobrovsky. Kuznetsov then struck with 2:32 to play for the Capitals.
–Field Level Media
