WASHINGTON — Evan Rodrigues tied it early in the third period, Sam Reinhart scored 15 seconds into overtime and the defending Eastern Conference champion Florida Panthers rallied to beat the Washington Capitals 4-3 on Wednesday night for a second consecutive victory.
Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and captain Aleksander Barkov also scored for the Panthers. Two-time Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky made 25 saves and was hardly to blame for the three goals he allowed.
Florida, despite being without top defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour for the entire season so far as they recover from shoulder surgery, and more recently injured center Sam Bennett, has been among the better defending teams in the NHL.
The Panthers got some more goals, most notably Reinhart’s goal on the first shift of 3-on-3 OT, to win for a third time in four games.
The Capitals ended their five-game homestand on a losing note despite two goals from Anthony Mantha, one short-handed score rom Connor McMichael and two assists from Aliaksei Protas. Mantha left in distress in the third period after taking a puck to the left side of his face and did not return.
Darcy Kuemper allowed four goals on 25 shots, including one after a turnover by young defenseman Alexander Alexeyev. Alex Ovechkin remains stuck on two goals, matching his lowest total through 11 games (2008-09) and slowing down his pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s career record.
UP NEXT
Panthers: Host the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday in a rematch of last season’s East final.
Capitals: Visit the New Jersey Devils on Friday in the first half of New York-area back to back.
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