By The Associated Press’s Stephen Whyno
Washington The Washington Capitals upset the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers 6-3 on Tuesday night, as Alex Ovechkin tied Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career record with his 878th goal into an empty net with 0.1 seconds remaining.
With his goal, Ovechkin is just 17 goals away from surpassing Gretzky’s previously insurmountable 894 mark. Although he has one more year left on his deal, the Capitals have 29 games left for him to reach 895 or higher this season.
Two-time Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky was the target of goals from Andrew Mangiapane, Tom Wilson, Lars Eller, and Nic Dowd. Aliaksei Protas also had an empty-netter. One of the current award contenders, Logan Thompson, helped Washington from losing three straight games by stopping 31 of the 34 shots he faced.
Despite goals from Sam Bennett, Aleksander Barkov, and Matthew Tkachuk, as well as 21 saves from Bobrovsky, Florida’s winning streak came to an end at three.
Takeaways
Panthers: Although there were moments of genius throughout, like as when Barkov outmuscled Washington’s Jakob Chychrun on his second-goal attempt, the defending champions were unable to maintain their winning streak.
On Tuesday, February 4, 2025, in Washington, Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov, right, scores a goal past Washington Capitals goalie Logan Thompson, left, during the second period of an NHL hockey game. (Photo by Nick Wass/AP)
Capitals: After a lackluster start, they recovered and scored from depth once more, including Wilson’s shorthanded goal on a Protas 2-on-1 rush.
Key moment
Eller ended a 10-game goal drought by outmaneuvring Florida defenseman Dmitry Kulikov and sending a shot past Bobrovsky early in the third period. Eller’s goal against Bob, the goalie, was his ninth of the season and his fifth overall, including playoffs. A few minutes later, Dowd scored the insurance goal and the eventual game-winning goal.
Key stat
With 22 goals apiece, Protas and Wilson are tied for second place behind Ovechkin on the team goal scoring chart.
Up Next
On Thursday, the same night the Capitals play in Philadelphia, the Panthers travel to St. Louis.
https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL is the AP NHL.
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