Panthers overcome three-goal deficit to win Game 5 against Capitals, take 3-2 series advantage

Washington’s T.J. Oshie opened the scoring on Wednesday night, tallying a power-play goal at 7:09 of the first period. 

Leading 1-0 in the second period, a goal from Justin Schultz 2:13 into the period gave Washington a 2-0 lead. A minute later, Oshie scored his second goal of the game, at 3:38, to put the Capitals up 3-0. 

Nearing the seven-minute mark of the second period, Florida finally got on the board when Carter Verhaeghe scored to cut the Capitals’ lead to 3-1. The Panthers continued to chip away at Washington’s lead after Patric Hornqvist scored at 12:27 to make it 3-2. About two minutes later, Sam Reinhart brought the Panthers all the way back, tying things up with a goal at 14:41. The Panthers and Capitals entered the second intermission tied 3-3. 

The Panthers wasted little time in the third, as Verhaeghe scored his second of the night at 3:04 of the third to give Florida its first lead of the game. Verhaeghe had a five-point night, scoring two goals while adding three helpers. 

At 15:15, Claude Giroux scored to seal the victory for the Panthers. 

After a rough start, Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky bounced back down the stretch, turning away 30 of 33 Washington shots. 

The Panthers will look to end the series and punch their ticket to the second round when they travel to take on the Capitals in Washington for Game 6 Friday at 7:30 p.m.