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 practiced for the first time this season, 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.