SUNRISE, Fla. — The Florida Panthers did not have much trouble with the Washington Capitals for the first two periods of their 5-2 win Tuesday in Sunrise. They were well on their way to 50 shots on goal, converted on a power play and every one of the Capitals’. Even so, they were only up by one and only one miscue away from letting Washington erase a two-goal deficit.
For more than five minutes to start the third period, the Capitals got close. They spent almost the entire first quarter of the final period in the Panthers’ zone, firing shots at Sergei Bobrovsky and launching rockets just wide of the star goaltender’s net.
With 10 saves by the 34-year-old goalie and finally a timely goal by Nick Cousins, Florida survived to beat Washington in a rematch of their first-round series from the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Bobrovsky finished with 40 saves.
Cousins scored with 12:58 remaining, fielding a pinpoint pass from defenseman Gustav Forsling on the left doorstep and then stretching across the crease to slide an insurance-policy goal past Capitals goaltender Darcy Kuemper for a 3-1 lead.
It was enough to calm the nerves of the crowd at FLA Live Arena, which watched hopelessly as Washington turned a potential romp into a competitive game.
Still, the Panthers never trailed, going ahead 1-0 in just 5:45 and playing a mostly complete game, excluding the first seven or so minutes of the final period.
Florida put 44 shots on goal, including 20 in the first period, and went 1 for 1 on the power play and 5 for 5 on the penalty kill. The Panthers even got to see a rare bit of feistiness from star center Aleksander Barkov, who went after Lars Eller after the Washington center delivered an illegal check to the head on forward Carter Verhaeghe.
Barkov, whose unassisted goal with 14:15 left in the first period gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead, grabbed at Eller, and wound up without a helmet and at the bottom of a pile-up — a rare sight for the usually stoic captain, who has a Lady Byng Memorial Trophy on his resume.
At the end of the fracas, Florida went on the power play for the first time and forward Sam Reinhart put the Panthers up 2-0 with a beautiful backhanded baseball-style swing at a bouncing rebound along the crease with 16:14 left in the second.
The Capitals did score goals on a 4-on-4 in the second period and a delayed penalty with 8:45 remaining, but Florida clamped down defensively down the stretch, shutting down one more power play and Verhaeghe finally iced the game on a goal with three minutes to go.
