THRILLER! Panthers Complete Epic Comeback for 5-4 Win

On Tuesday night, the Florida Panthers defeated the Washington Capitals 5-4. Florida snapped a two-game skid with their win; they now sit first in the Atlantic division. Washington, on the other hand, is 14-4-5 and first in the Metropolitan division.

Game Recap

The first period started out slow before a slew of goals by both teams. 5:52 into the first, Connor McMichael struck. Eleven seconds later, Beck Malenstyn added another with his first NHL goal. A 2-0 lead by the Caps was shortened to a one goal lead with Joe Thornton’s goal and 1,533rd career point. This ties Thornton for 12th place on the NHL’s all-time points list. Prior to the end of the period, Frank Vatrano took a penalty but the Panthers killed it off.

Lars Eller opened the second period scoring the third goal for Washington. Roughly four minutes later, there was some pushing and shoving that led to a thread of roughing penalties given. With 8:20 remaining in the middle frame, Nick Jensen added Washington’s fourth goal for a 4-1 lead. After, Florida got their first power play chance of the game, but they could not convert.

Now, it was time for arguably the best period of Panthers hockey this year. The third period began with a Ryan Lomberg goal, cutting Washington’s lead to two. Frank Vatrano did exactly what Florida did not need about two minutes later, take a penalty. Despite being down a man, Eutu Luostarinen picked up a puck chipped out of the zone for Florida’s third goal. This cut the deficit down to one. Bobrovsky kept the Panthers fighting around midway with a huge save. Sam Bennett scored two minutes later on the power play, tying the game at four. This marked a terrific comeback, but the Cats were not done.

Malenstyn made a big Washington mistake and took a penalty with just under a minute remaining. Sam Reinhart capitalized on the power play with 14.4 seconds left.

The Florida Panthers outshot the Washington Capitals 27-2 in the final period. With these chances, Florida made a three goal comeback and added one more for the win.

Takeaways/Notes

Sam Reinhart is the fourth player to score a go-ahead goal in the final fifteen seconds of regulation this season.
Florida won for the fourth time in franchise history when trailing by three in the third period.
Joe Thornton’s goal places him in a tie for twelfth in the NHL’s all-time points scored list. He is tied with Mark Recchi who also has 1,533 points.
Florida will not play Washington again this season unless they meet in the playoffs. All games in this season series between the two were held in November, and Florida is on top with a 2-1 record.