No Goal for Alex Ovechkin But Capitals Run Past Panthers

All eyes were on Alex Ovechkin Saturday when the Florida Panthers visited the Washington Capitals.

Yet despite his team scoring six goals in the first 40 minutes, Ovechkin did not have any of them.

So, the Panthers had that going for them.

But that was about it.

After a wild first period in which both teams scored three, the Capitals stormed out of the gate in the second and ran past the Panthers for a 6-3 win.

Washington, the top team in the Eastern Conference, went 3-0 against Florida this season.

Ovechkin, who remains seven goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s longstanding NHL record, did factor into two of Washington’s second-period goals with primary assists.

Sam Bennett, Seth Jones, and Jonah Gadjovich scored for the Panthers in the loss.

Florida went 2-4-0 on its six-game roadtrip and plays host to the Penguins on Sunday evening.

NOTES: PANTHERS @ CAPITALS

• Carter Verhaeghe played in his 400th NHL game on Saturday.
• Florida and Washington combined for six first-period goals on Saturday. Only six games in the NHL had more than that this season.
• The Panthers scored three tying goals in a first period for the first time in franchise history and are the first team to do it since Montreal in 2018.
• Ovechkin got his first point against Vanecek — his former teammate — and has at least one point against 197 different goaltenders. That is the seventh-highest total in NHL history. Jaromir Jagr had a point against 232 different NHL goalies.

HOW THEY SCORED

• Capitals 1, Panthers 0 (1st 3:15): Tom Wilson finds Connor McMichael alone at the blue line on a pileup along the benches. McMichael walks in on Vanek Vanecek, pulls him out, and sweeps the puck in.
• Panthers 1, Capitals 1 (1st 6:35): Mackie Samoskevich sends a sharp pass from the corner to a hard-charging Sam Bennett who ties it at 1.
• Capitals 2, Panthers 1 (1st 12:24): John Carlson fires a shot from the slot that goes off the skate of Niko Mikkola and through.
• Panthers 2, Capitals 2 (1st 13:56): Seth Jones blasts one from the point for his first goal with the Panthers.
• Capitals 3, Panthers 2 (1st 14:56): Anthony Beauvillier gets loose and beats Vanecek on the breakaway.
• Panthers 3, Capitals 3 (1st 15:27): Jonah Gadjovich gets a backdoor pass from Nico Sturm and rips it from the slot.
• Capitals 4, Panthers 3 (2nd 0:07): Tom Wilson scores off a breakaway coming off the opening faceoff of the period.
• Capitals 5, Panthers 3 (2nd 0:59): Alex Ovechkin throws one up from the right circle and the puck goes off the skate of Dylan Strome and in.
• Capitals 6, Panthers 3 (2nd 5:57): Ovechkin throws another shot toward the net, this one hitting Andrew Mangiapane on a delayed penalty.

FHN’S 3 STARS OF THE GAME

• 1. Alex Ovechkin, Washington
• 2. Tom Wilson, Washington
• 3. Connor McMichael, Washington

ON DECK: GAME No. 71

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS at FLORIDA PANTHERS

• When: Sunday, 6 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise 
• Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FTL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (SWFla)
• Streaming: Panthers+, ESPN+
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• Season Series (Tied 1-1) — At Florida: Panthers 3, Penguins 2 SO (Jan. 13); Sunday. At Pittsburgh: Penguins 5, Panthers 4 OT (Dec. 3).
• Last Season: Panthers won 3-0
• All-time Regular Season Series: Penguins lead 57-39-8, 4 ties
• All-time Playoff Series: Florida d. Pittsburgh 4-3, 1996 Eastern Conference finals
• Up Next for the Panthers: Friday vs. Utah Hockey Club, 7 p.m.