Panthers Come Back On Capitals

     The Florida Panthers overcame the Washington Capitals 5-4 on Tuesday night at FLA Live Arena. It was the fourth time in Panthers history that they won after coming back from three or more goals during the third period. The Panthers entered the contest not first in the Atlantic Division for the first time since their first game of the 2021-22 regular season. 

     Washington(14-4-5) scored two goals in an 11-second span to go up 2-0. Connor McMichael shot the puck from behind the cage off the left leg of Sergei Bobrovsky at 5:52 for his third goal of the year. It was the second time that McMichael scored in Sunrise this season. Beck Malenstyn got his first NHL goal at the 6:03 mark on a snap shot from the left of the crease. 

     Florida(15-4-3) answered back 52 seconds later and closed it to 2-1. Jonathan Huberdeau passed from the right wing and Aaron Ekblad fired a slap shot from the top of the zone. Ilya Samsonov made the initial save, however Joe Thornton guided the puck in from the blue paint for his second goal in a Panthers uniform. Thronton tied Mark Recchi for 12th all-time with 1,533 career points. 

     In the second period, the Capitals added two more goals and led 4-1. Lars Eller skated through the left circle into the crease and scooped in a backhand shot at the 6:40 mark. Nick Jensen would later release a wrist shot from the high slot area and scored his third tally of the campaign with 7:20 remaining. 

     The Panthers pulled off a comeback in the third period. They cut the deficit to 4-2 at 3:23. Patrick Hornqvist snapped a shot from the low right circle which was saved and Ryan Lomberg put in a forehand shot from the low slot for his second goal this season. Eetu Luostarinen was credited with his first assist of the year on that play.  

     The Cats made it 4-3 at the 6:09 mark. Lomberg flipped the puck out of his zone and Luostarinen scored a shorthanded goal on a breakaway. 

     Florida evened it up 4-4 on a power-play goal with 7:59 left in the third. Ekblad fired a slap shot from the top of the zone and it was deflected in by Sam Bennett in the crease for his eighth goal of the season. 

     The Panthers picked up another power-play opportunity in the final minute of the third period. They converted on it as Sam Reinhart ripped a snap shot from the left circle with 14.4 seconds to go for his fifth tally of the campaign. Florida did set a new franchise record with 27 third-period shots.