Oshie, Capitals rally past Panthers with three in third to win Game 1

SUNRISE, Fla. -- T.J. Oshie scored the go-ahead goal at 10:37 of the third period when the Washington Capitals defeated the Florida Panthers 4-2 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round at FLA Live Arena on Tuesday.

Evgeny Kuznetsov, Tom Wilson and Lars Eller also scored for the Capitals, the second wild card in the East. Vitek Vanecek made 30 saves.
"We liked the game we were playing the whole night and we just felt like if we stuck to it and stuck with it and played good defense that the offensive chances would keep coming and that eventually we could crack 'em," Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said.
Sam Bennett and Claude Giroux scored for the Panthers, who earned the Presidents' Trophy for best regular-season record in the NHL. Sergei Bobrovsky made 34 saves.
Game 2 will be played here Thursday.
Oshie scored when he redirected Nicklas Backstrom's pass from the top of the left circle across the goal crease.
"It looked like it was going to be a 2-on-2 right away," Oshie said. "I was able to get a step on … I'm not sure who was over there … and you know typical 'Nicky' fashion, sauced it through a guy's legs and right to my tape. I just redirected it, didn't see it go in, so he had to come tell me that I scored. It is always nice to get that go-ahead goal in the third period and it was a great play by Nick."

Eller scored an empty-net goal at 19:11 for the 4-2 final.
Kuznetsov tied it 2-2 at 8:14 with a breakaway goal after Alex Ovechkin stole the puck from MacKenzie Weegar outside the Florida zone.
"We let one slip away," said Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who was back in the lineup after missing the final 20 games of the regular season with a lower-body injury. "I like to think we're gonna learn a valuable lesson from this and try and do things a little bit differently with the lead in the third period."
Florida was called for two penalties in the first 1:48, a high-sticking against Radko Gudas and a delay of game against Weegar.
Wilson gave Washington a 1-0 lead at 3:47 one second before the second penalty was set to expire when he put home a rebound off an Anthony Mantha shot from the point.
"First game is always important because you're feeling really good after that," Vanecek said. "The guys were buzzing today, the defense was tight and the offense was really good. I hope it will go the same way for the next game."

Bennett tied it 1-1 at 17:55 with a wrist shot from the high slot that bounced off the post on the blocker side.
Giroux gave Florida a 2-1 lead 43 seconds into the second period when a rebound off Brandon Montour's shot bounced in off his body.
"We're still in good spirits," Bennett said. "We still know how good of a team we are. So there's no panic in the locker room whatsoever. Everyone's still positive. So we will learn from that game and move on. It's a long series."
NOTES:Wilson left the game with a lower-body injury after playing 1:31 in the first period. Laviolette did not have an update after the game. … Ovechkin played 17:36 and had four shots on goal after missing the final three games of the regular season with an upper-body injury. … Ekblad played a team-high 24:11. … The Panthers lost their sixth consecutive Game 1, a streak that began after they defeated the New York Rangers 3-0 in the 1997 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. … Florida was 39-0-1 when leading after two periods in the regular season. … The Capitals rallied in the third period to win a playoff game for the 20th time in their history and first since their Stanley Cup-clinching win during Game 5 of the 2018 Final against the Vegas Golden Knights. … Oshie scored his sixth game-winning goal in the playoffs. Only wo players in Capitals history have recorded more: Ovechkin (10) and Backstrom (seven).