RECAP: Panthers 3, Capitals 2 (OT)

SUNRISE, Fla. – Within the span of a single stellar shift in overtime, Gustav Forsling showed why he should be counted among the top two-way defensemen in the NHL.

After flying back into the defensive zone to shut down an odd-man rush with a clean strip of Sonny Milano, Forsling, after a second strip from Sam Bennett sent the action the other way, booked it down into the offensive zone and buried a one-timer to lift the Florida Panthers to a 3-2 win over the Washington Capitals at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday.

“A little chaos there as usual in overtime,” said Forsling, who looked no worse for wear after exiting the previous game early due to an injury. “I saw Benny grab the puck. I felt pretty fresh. It was my first shift in overtime, so I had the legs. Benny just made an unreal pass.”

Improving to 38-16-4, the Panthers have won 11 of their last 13 games.

In that stretch, they haven’t surrendered more than two goals in a single game.

“You always want more though,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said.

During a scoreless first period, the penalty kill did the heavy lifting for the Panthers. Standing tall during two power-play opportunities for the Capitals, they allowed just one shot on goal while also generating multiple odd-man rushes while shorthanded.

Breaking the ice in the second period, Nick Cousins set up shop in the slot and tipped a point shot from Dmitry Kulikov past Charlie Lindgren’s right pad to make it 1-0 at 4:03.

“Good for him because it’s been a bit of grinder for him coming off his injury and getting back to form,” Maurice said of Cousins, who missed an extended period of time earlier this season while in concussion protocol. “A good goal in an area that he spends time in. I thought his last game and tonight, he played well for us.”

Finally cashing in on their third power play of the game, the Capitals pulled even when Milano finished off a tic-tac-toe play by powering a pass from Rasmus Sandin past Anthony Stolarz from the right side of the net to make it 1-1 at 18:31.

With that goal, Stolarz’s shutout streak ended at 115:55.

On another power play after a questionable holding call against Aleksander Barkov, the Capitals took the lead when Tom Wilson got behind the defense, grabbed a dump-in off the boards and cut to the net before tucking in a goal to make it 2-1 at 10:11 of the third period.

With 4:18 left in regulation, the Panthers went to the power play when Evan Rodrigues was hooked as the Panthers frantically tried to bury a loose puck in the blue paint. Prior to the whistle, Cousins nearly scored his second goal, but was denied by a sprawling save from Lindgren.

Stolarz finished with 22 saves, while Lindgren made 26.

“We like to a play defensive structure,” said Stolarz, who now sits at 9-5-2 with a .926 save percentage on the season. “With that in mind, Bobby (Sergei Bobrovsky) and I know you have to make big saves. You look at the other goalie, Lindgren played one hell of a game tonight. You look down at the other end and he’s making big saves, so you know you have to step up your game.”

Coming up in the clutch, Barkov evened the score on the ensuing man advantage when he tipped a shot from Carter Verhaeghe past Lindgren’s glove to make it 2-2 at 16:30.

The goal was initially credited to Verhaeghe, but later changed to Barkov.

“We wanted to get one,” said Verhaeghe, who always seems to be involved in big moments against Washington. “Our power play wasn’t that sharp tonight before that. That was a big goal. Nice to tie it up there and push it to overtime. Anything can happen in overtime.”

That’s true.

But in the extra frame, Forsling made it happen.

Doing it all to get the job done, his one-timer off a sweet dish from Bennett locked in the 3-2 win at 3:41 of overtime.

“That’s all Fors right there,” Stolarz said. “That’s just the kind of player he is -- balls out, 100% every shift. He comes back, makes one hell of a play to stop the 2-on-1, chips it up, gives it to Benny, joins the rush, beats their guy up the ice. That’s a goal he deserves.”

THEY SAID IT

“Every night, you’re not going to come out flying. This was one of them. I didn’t like our first period, but we got the two points. It just shows how much we trust each other in here.” – Gustav Forsling

“[Carter Verhaeghe] is like that. He’s always been like that. The more intense, the more people in a small area, the better he is. I think you just have to accept he’s that good.” – Paul Maurice

“I think that makes a playoff team there, guys that are willing to sell out and commit to both ends of the ice. You could see it tonight. We had a couple breakdowns where they had an odd-man rush, but the guys did a great job getting back.” – Anthony Stolarz

“We’re grinding it out. We’ve kind of learned, the more we stick to our game plan and [the more] even-keel we can be, the better chance [we have] of winning... The power play was huge at the end there. It was nice to tie it and get the win.” – Carter Verhaeghe

CATS STATS

- Seven different Panthers recorded at least three hits.

- Gustav Forsling scored the third overtime goal of his career.

- Evan Rodrigues and Sam Bennett each blocked two shots.

- Aleksander Barkov went 11-for-16 (68.8%) in the faceoff circle.

- Florida has scored a game-tying goal in the final five minutes twice this season.

- Brandon Montour has recorded multiple points in three of his last four games.

- Dmitry Kulikov logged his 15^th assist of the campaign.

- The Panthers led 17-14 in scoring chances at 5-on-5.

- Anthony Stolarz made five high-danger saves, per NaturalStatTrick.com.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The Panthers will look to stay hot when they host the Buffalo Sabres at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET.

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