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The Florida Panthers picked up an exhilarating comeback win on Monday night in the Sunrise hockey barn.
Falling behind early in the third period, Florida battled back thanks to standout performances from several veterans, taking down the visiting Washington Capitals by a final score of 5-3.
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Washington’s top goal scorer got things started, but it’s probably not who you think.
Tom Wilson (not Alex Ovechkin) scored his team-leading 18th goal off a tough rebound after Martin Fehervary’s shot caught Sergei Bobrovsky up high at the 3:53 mark.
It didn’t take long for Florida to tie things up.
A turnover by the Capitals in their zone that came directly off a Sam Reinhart forecheck saw the puck picked up by a wide-open Jeff Petry at the point.
He skated toward the net and wound up for a slapshot, but instead noticed Anton Lundell at the back post and sent a slap-pass to the Finnish forward, who tapped the puck into a wide-open net behind a surprised Logan Thompson to knot the score at one just 42 seconds after Wilson’s goal.
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Washington was called for back-to-back penalties midway through the period, and the second one would bite them in the behind.
With Ethen Frank in the box for slashing against Niko Mikkola, Reinhart walked into the right circle and wired a shot that went off the skate of Trevor van Riemsdyk and over Thompson’s shoulder, giving Florida a 2-1 lead with 7:15 to go in the period.
Unfortunately for the Cats, another goal by Wilson in the final seconds of the period would keep Florida from taking a lead into the locker room.
The score remained tied at two until early in the final frame, when a long wrist shot by Dylan Strome got past a screened Bobrovsky to give the Capitals a 3-2 lead with 16:49 on the clock.
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Just over a minute after Washington scored, Ovechkin took a penalty for interfering with Aaron Ekblad, and while Florida didn’t cash in on the man advantage, they did score quite literally a moment later.
After Thompson stopped a Sam Bennett one-timer, Brad Marchand got a stick on the fluttering rebound in midair to knot the score back up at three.
Florida continued to control much of the possession and eventually went back in front thanks to a goal off the stick of Aaron Ekblad.
A laser of a pass out of the corner from Reinhart found an open Ekblad in the high slot, and his quick clapper went right over Thompson’s glove and into the back of the net with 6:48 on the clock.
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Reinhart’s second of the game and 21st of the season went into a vacated Capitals net, cementing a solid home victory for Florida.
On to the Canadiens.
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Photo caption: Dec 29, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad (5) and center Anton Lundell (15) celebrate his goal against the Washington Capitals during the third period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Jeff Romance-Imagn Images)
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