Trailing early, the Panthers fought back Saturday in Washington, scoring four unanswered goals to claim a crucial road win against the Capitals.
The Florida Panthers ended their season-long road trip with a strong effort on Saturday night in Washington D.C.
Both the Panthers and Washington Capitals are in need of every point they can get, each sitting on the outside of the playoff picture looking in.
Despite falling behind and trailing at the game’s halfway point, Florida dug in and scored four straight goals to conquer the Capitals 5-2 and head home with an even 3-3-0 record on the roadie.
The Cats got off to a good start on Saturday, as the only goal of the opening period came off the stick of a Panther.
Holding the puck behind Logan Thompson’s net, Sam Bennett attempted a wrap-around that was stopped, but the rebound tricked out to the top of the crease, where A.J. Greer was waiting to slam it home with 6:37 to go in the first period.
Back-to-back goals by Caps blueliner Jakob Chychrun, his 16th and 17th of the year, would energize the crowd and propel the home team into the lead, but it wouldn’t last very long.
Just 96 seconds later, with Florida cycling in the Washington end of the ice, Carter Verhaeghe threw the puck toward the net and it hit Bennett, who was causing a screen in front. He controlled the puck and, while falling down, fired a shot past Thompson to knot the score at two.
Later in the period, with Florida on the game’s first power play, Uvis Balinskis played catch at the blue line with Anton Lundell, with the defenseman eventually taking a one-timer that found its way past a screened Thompson to send Florida into the third period with a 3-2 lead.
Florida clamped down during the final frame, holding the Capitals to a single shot on goal during the first half of the period, and six total shots during the third despite Washington trying to come from behind.
A pair of empty net goals by Lundell and Verhaeghe cemented the gritty victory for the Panthers.
On to the Sharks.
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Photo caption: Jan 17, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Florida Panthers defenseman Uvis Balinskis (26) celebrates wth Panthers goaltender Daniil Tarasov (40) after their game against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena. (Geoff Burke-Imagn Images)