Panthers deliver complete team effort in showdown vs Capitals

After Saturday's mess against Tampa Bay, this one started with a different heartbeat, fast ice, fewer scrums, and actual rhythm shift to shift. That reset mattered after the 45-penalty, 136-minute night Florida just lived through.

Washington still landed the first jolt through Tom Wilson, and he didn't waste time doubling it. Florida answered through Anton Lundell and Sam Reinhart, and the first period somehow ended 2-2 without either team looking comfortable.

The second period felt like a test of patience more than talent, and Sergei Bobrovsky passed it. His glove robbery on Wilson, right as the hat trick was looming, was the kind of save that settles a bench without saying a word.

As a fan, you could feel Florida relax once the game stayed about plays, not whistles.

Dylan Strome nudged Washington back in front at 3-2 in the third, and for a second it looked like Florida might run out of runway. Instead, Marchand's power-play finish tied it again, and the Panthers kept coming in waves.

That's where the details finally showed up, cleaner exits, quicker support, and way more pucks to the crease. Aaron Ekblad's slap shot, set up by Reinhart and Lundell, pushed Florida ahead, and Reinhart followed with an empty net goal to close the game.

Florida scored three times in a 13-minute span, and it's quietly becoming a habit lately. After those recent late surges, including the Hurricanes comeback, the Panthers don't look rattled when a game gets tight in the third.

The finish said it all, Marchand worked on the power play, the penalty kill, and at five-on-five without taking a shift off, and Reinhart with three points felt dominant every time Florida needed a touch of control.

Incredible team effort!