(Sunrise) Carter Verhaeghe set a Panthers playoff record with five points and Florida rallied from a three-goal deficit on Wednesday, beating the Washington Capitals 5-3 to take a 3-2 series lead.
Updated yesterday at 11:44 p.m.
Verhaeghe had two goals and three assists.
“It’s going very well for me at the moment,” said the 26-year-old Torontonian, who also scored twice in the previous game. And for our team too. We have two chances to advance on the board. »
Sergei Bobrovsky made 28 saves for the Panthers, who were down 3-0 after 3:38 in the second period.
Patric Hornqvist, Claude Giroux and Sam Reinhart also scored for Florida. Aleksander Barkov was instrumental in two goals.
“We didn’t have the desired start to the game,” admitted Barkov. But then we started playing the right way. »
TJ Oshie scored twice in a losing cause. Justin Schultz also hit the target, while Ilya Samsonov blocked 33 shots.
Verhaeghe broke a record set by Ray Sheppard on April 22, 1996.
Game 6 is Friday in Washington.
If a seventh meeting was needed, it would be Sunday, at Sunrise.
At 3:04 into the third period, Verhaeghe broke the 3-3 deadlock with his second goal of the night. Giroux added an insurance goal at 15:55.
In the regular season, the Panthers led the NHL with 29 games where they had to catch up. This includes five wins where the opponent had a three-goal cushion.
“Our group is confident that we’ll always be able to come back in a game,” said Andrew Brunette, who is the Panthers’ interim manager.
Florida led a 3-2 series most recently in 2012, but New Jersey won the next two games.
The Caps’ 3-0 lead was eaten away and destroyed 7:51 into the second period.
“It feels like the game was wasted,” Capitals’ Nicklas Backstrom said.
Year-to-date, Washington was 20-1-0 with a three-goal lead. The setback was suffered against the Panthers on November 30.
A blemish on the Cats’ record: Florida is 0-for-16 in superiority during the series, after going 0-for-3 on Wednesday.