SUNRISE, Fla. — Jaromir Jagr moved into a tie for fourth on the all-time scoring list with a first-period goal that sparked the Florida Panthers to a 4-1 win over the Washington Capitals on Thursday night.
Jagr gave the Panthers the lead 51 seconds into the game after Dmitry Kulikov’s long shot from the point was deflected by Jagr and bounced into the net. The goal was Jagr’s first since Nov. 21 and the 731st of his career, tying him with Hall of Famer Marcel Dionne.
Logan Shaw, Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Pirri also scored for the Panthers, Jonathan Huberdeau had two assists and Al Montoya had 19 saves as Panthers snapped a two-game skid and have won six of their last eight.
Alex Ovechkin scored for Washington and Philipp Grubauer stopped 23 shots in his first start in nine games. The Metropolitan Division-leading Capitals have dropped two of their last three games.
Pirri’s power-play goal gave the Panthers a 2-0 lead in the second. Pirri one-timed a pass from Brian Campbell in the right circle over Grubauer’s glove at 9:16.
Ekblad stretched the Panthers’ lead to 3-0 in the third period when, during four-on-four play, Ekblad took a pass from Huberdeau in the right circle and fired it past Grubauer at 7:19.
Ovechkin scored a power-play goal with a shot from the right circle with 2:08 left to close to 3-1.
Shaw’s empty-net goal, the second of his career, made it 4-1.
Washington’s Tom Wilson received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for boarding Campbell at 5:43 of the third.
The start of the game was delayed 17 minutes because the required emergency personnel left to assist at a nearby accident.
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