By Noah Trister
WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Tuch and Aliaksei Protas scored in the second period to lift the Washington Capitals to a 4-3 victory over the Florida Panthers on Saturday.
Brady Tkachuk scored two goals for the Panthers in the first, the latter coming on an extended power play after Washington’s Tom Wilson was ejected for a hit on Sandis Valmanis, but the Capitals rallied in the second.
Jack St. Ivany scored his first career goal for the Capitals in the first, and Pierre-Luc Dubois added one in the third. Sam Bennett brought the Panthers within one with 46.6 seconds to play.
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Valmanis did not return after Wilson’s hit to his back knocked him headfirst into the area where the boards and glass meet. Wilson was given a major penalty for boarding, and Tkachuk put Florida ahead 2-1.
Tuch tied it with his 11th goal of the season, and then Washington took the lead with a nice team goal. Ryan Leonard battled behind the net and sent the puck to Dubois in the left circle. He made one more pass to Protas on the right doorstep, and he had an open net to shoot at.
Protas returned the favor in the final period with an assist to Dubois.
St. Ivany opened the scoring 2:21 into the game with a soft shot from the right boards that slipped past goalie Akira Schmid. Tkachuk answered less than a minute later after Washington’s Dylan Strome turned the puck over in the defensive zone. It was Tkachuk’s ninth goal of the season, and he’d add one more before the period was over.
Up next
Panthers: At Boston on Sunday.
Capitals: At Ottawa on Tuesday night.
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