The Panthers, who extended their season-high winning streak to six games, stayed in the top wild-card position among the Eastern Conference teams with 91 points. Their nearby competitors in the standings, the New York Islanders(91 points) and the Pittsburgh Penguins(90 points), were also victorious. All three clubs have two games remaining in the regular season.
The Panthers and the Caps did not find the net in the first period. Both teams combined for four goals during the second period.
Washington(34-36-9) took a 1-0 lead at the 8:51 of the second period. Dylan Strome got his 21st goal this year from the right of the crease.
Florida(42-31-7) tied it up 1-1 just over two minutes later. Aleksander Barkov won a faceoff in the right circle and drew the puck back. Brandon Montour angled a pass from the top of the zone and Carter Verhaeghe blasted a one-time slap shot from the right wing for his 41st goal of the season.
The Panthers made it 2-1 while on the power play with 6:13 left in the second. Matthew Tkachuk centered the puck from the right side and Sam Reinhart released a snap shot from the slot area which was saved. Aaron Ekblad hustled in and scored on a forehand shot from the left side of the crease for his 14th goal of the year.
The Capitals answered back with 3:55 to go in the frame. Tom Wilson was able to score as he redirected a centering pass from on top of the crease his 10th goal of the campaign.
In the third period, Florida pulled ahead 3-2 with 1:00 remaining. Tkachuk fired a wrist shot from the left wing for an unassisted goal and he collected his 40th goal of the season. It was the second time of Tkachuk's career that he reached the 40-goal plateau. Tkachuk did have 42 goals last season with the Calgary Flames.
Reinhart chalked up his 31st goal in 2022-23 on an empty-net goal with 39.9 seconds left. Tkachuk picked up his 68th assist while Barkov added his 55th assist on the play.
No comments:
Post a Comment