Capitals lose 5-3 after Panthers claw back from 3-goal deficit

Carter Verhaeghe set a Florida postseason record with a five-point night, and the Florida Panthers escaped a three-goal deficit to beat the Washington Capitals 5-3 and take a 3-2 lead in an Eastern Conference first-round series Wednesday night.

Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 30 shots for Florida, which trailed 3-0 in the second period. Verhaeghe had two goals and three assists for the Panthers.

Patric Hornqvist, Claude Giroux and Sam Reinhart also scored for the Panthers, and Aleksander Barkov had two assists.

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SUNRISE, FL - MAY 11: Aleksander Barkov #16 of the Florida Panthers skates for position against T.J. Oshie #77 and Nick Jensen #3 of the Washington Capitals in Game Five of the First Round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the FLA Live Arena on May 11, 2022 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images)

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T.J. Oshie scored twice for Washington, which also got a goal from Justin Schultz and two assists from Evgeny Kuznetsov. Ilya Samsonov stopped 33 shots.

Verhaeghe broke the Panthers’ playoff scoring record that Ray Sheppard set on a four-point night back on April 22, 1996 — which remains the last, and only, season in which the Panthers won a playoff series.

They can change that Friday, when Game 6 is played in Washington. Game 7, if necessary, would be back at Florida on Sunday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Washington Capitals