Capitals Spoil Panthers

     Alex Ovechkin chalked up his 28th career hat trick as the Washington Capitals held off the Florida Panthers 4-3 at Capital One Arena on Friday night. The Panthers will attempt to set a new NHL record with their 12th consecutive win at home to begin a regular season on Saturday in Sunrise. 

     Florida(14-2-3) got a 1-0 lead with 32 seconds left in the first period. Jonathan Huberdeau put in an unassisted goal for his seventh tally this year. 

     Washington(12-3-5) rolled through early in the second period with three goals. Tom Wilson scored a shorthanded goal at the 1:34 mark. Alex Ovechkin placed in two goals with a power-play goal at 2:50 and an even-strength goal at 3:46 for his 16th and 17th goals of the season. 

     The Panthers bounced back and closed it to 3-2 at 13:11 left in the second period. Sam Reinhart collected his fourth goal of the campaign on assists from MacKenzie Weegar and Brandon Montour. 

     In the third period, Ovechkin got his third goal of the game for the hat trick at the 4:02 mark. It gave the Capitals a two-goal margin in the final frame. Ovechkin is now tied for third in NHL history with hat tricks. 

     The Cats cut the deficit to 4-3 just over a minute later at 5:36. Carter Verhaeghe nailed his seventh goal of the campaign following an assist by Gustav Forling.