The Washington Capitals erased a two-goal deficit and beat the Florida Panthers 4-3 on Saturday at Capital One Arena, with Pierre-Luc Dubois scoring and assisting as Washington scored the final two goals. Sam Bennett pulled Florida within one with 47 seconds left, but the Panthers ran out of time.
Aliaksei Protas tied the game late in the second period and set up Dubois’ go-ahead goal in the third, the sequence that decided it. Brady Tkachuk had given Florida a 2-1 lead with his second goal of the night, and Bennett’s deflection off assists from Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Reinhart made it a one-goal game in the final minute, but Washington held on.
Key Moments And How Washington Won
Jack St. Ivany opened the scoring 2:21 into the game with a snap shot, his first goal of the season. Florida answered with back-to-back goals from Brady Tkachuk, the first at 3:13 off a Matthew Tkachuk assist and the second at 10:00 with Matthew Tkachuk and Seth Jones assisting, putting the Panthers up 2-1 after one period.
Alex Tuch tied it for Washington at 4:39 of the second period on an unassisted snap shot. Protas then put the Capitals ahead for good at 14:55, scoring off feeds from Dubois and Ryan Leonard to make it 3-2 entering the third.
Dubois extended the lead to 4-2 at 4:42 of the third period with a wrist shot, assisted by Protas. Bennett’s deflected goal with 47 seconds remaining, set up by Matthew Tkachuk and Reinhart, brought Florida to within one, but the Panthers could not find an equalizer.
Player Of The Game: Pierre-Luc Dubois
Dubois finished with a goal and an assist for two points, the most of any Washington skater. He also won seven of 16 faceoffs and logged 15:15 of ice time. His third-period goal, set up by Protas, proved to be the deciding tally. Protas finished with a goal and an assist of his own, factoring into both of Washington’s final two scores.
Florida’s top performer was Matthew Tkachuk, who had three assists for three points, setting up both of his brother Brady’s first-period goals and Bennett’s late score. Brady Tkachuk scored twice, giving Florida’s top line a hand in all three Panthers goals.
Capitals Vs. Panthers By The Numbers
Washington outshot Florida 31-30 despite finishing 0-for-3 on the power play, while the Panthers converted once on five chances for a 20.0% power-play mark. Florida registered 31 hits to Washington’s eight, a lopsided physical edge that did not translate into a win. The Capitals committed 19 giveaways to Florida’s 21, and Washington won 27 of 48 faceoffs for a 48.2% clip. Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson stopped 27 of 30 shots for a .900 save percentage, while Florida’s Akira Schmid made 27 saves on 31 shots.
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