SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Sam Reinhart scored two goals, helping the Florida Panthers beat the Washington Capitals 5-3 on Monday night and giving the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions nine wins in their past 12 games.
The Capitals (20-14-5) have lost four of five.
Florida came back from a third-period deficit to pull out the win, getting goals from Brad Marchand, Aaron Ekblad and Reinhart.
The Capitals led 3-2 early in the third on a goal by Dylan Strome, who also had two assists. But Marchand tied the score by batting in his own rebound past goalie Logan Thompson at 6:16 of the third, and Ekblad put Florida ahead for good about seven minutes later.
Reinhart added an empty-netter to seal matters for Florida.
Tom Wilson got both Washington goals in the opening period, giving the Capitals a 1-0 lead at 3:53 and then tying the score at 2-2 with 43 seconds remaining on a power-play chance.
With the two goals, Wilson has four multigoal games this season — and his second multigoal period, the first of which came Nov. 19 against the Edmonton Oilers.
Between Wilson’s goals, the Panthers tied the score on Anton Lundell’s goal at 4:35 of the first, with Reinhart scoring his 20th of the season for a 2-1 lead at 12:45.
Wilson had a three-point night, getting the primary assist on Strome’s third-period goal. Strome assisted on Wilson’s two goals in the first.
After a scoreless second, the scoring picked up again in the third.
The game was Florida’s first since forward Matthew Tkachuk , following offseason surgery to repair a torn adductor muscle and sports hernia. Tkachuk practiced Sunday, but there is no timetable for his return to game action.
Up next
Capitals: Host the New York Rangers on Wednesday.
Panthers: Host Montreal on Tuesday.
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