Pierre-Luc Dubois and Aliaksei Protas each had a goal and an assist as the Washington Capitals held on for a 4-3 home win against the Florida Panthers on Saturday afternoon.
Jack St. Ivany scored his first career NHL goal and Logan Thompson made 27 saves for the Capitals, who snapped a two-game losing streak and ended a three-game homestand.
Brady Tkachuk scored twice, and Matthew Tkachuk had three assists for the Panthers, who have dropped two of their last three games. Akira Schmid made 27 saves.
St. Ivany put Washington up 1-0 at 2:21 of the first period. Schmid cleared the puck, and St. Ivany intercepted it at the boards, scoring on a snap shot from a sharp angle.
Tkachuk tied the score 1-1 at 3:13. The Capitals turned the puck over in their own zone, and Matthew Tkachuk set brother Brady up for a shot up close. The score came on the Panthers’ first shot on goal of the game.
Tkachuk scored again at 10:00 to make it 2-1. Florida was on a five-minute power play after Tom Wilson was issued a major penalty for boarding and a game misconduct, and Tkachuk scored again on a snap shot in front of the net.
Alex Tuch tied it 2-2 at 4:39 of the second period. The Panthers turned the puck over in the neutral zone, and Tuch scored on a snap shot.
Protas put the Capitals back in front 3-2 at 14:55. Dubois set up the goal with a no-look pass, and Protas caught Schmid out of position when he scored.
Dubois made it 4-2 at 4:42 of the third period. Protas set Dubois up with a cross-ice pass, and the center deked around Schmid to score.
Sam Bennett closed the score gap to 4-3 with 45 seconds remaining in regulation when he redirected a shot by Matthew Tkachuk.