Defenseman Jakob Chychrun, who grew up near the area, scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and added two assists, helping the Washington Capitals secure a 4-1 victory over the Florida Panthers on Monday in Sunrise, Fla.
Lars Eller scored twice for Washington, while he and Ivan Miroshnichenko each added an empty-net goal.
Logan Thompson made 20 saves in goal, improving his record to 9-1-1 in his first season with the Capitals.
Chychrun, who is from Boca Raton, a short drive from Sunrise, shared the spotlight with Eller and Thompson. The Panthers, the reigning Stanley Cup champions, have now lost six of their last seven games. Niko Mikkola scored for Florida, and backup goalie Spencer Knight made 27 saves.
Sam Reinhart’s 13-game points streak was snapped in this game. During that streak, Reinhart had 11 goals and eight assists, tying the longest points streak in the NHL this season.
The first period ended in a 1-1 tie.
Florida scored first, seven minutes into the game. Sam Bennett held the puck in the center, drawing two defenders before passing to Mikkola on the left wing. Mikkola then scored his first goal of the season with a shot off the crossbar.
Washington responded with a goal at 17:49. Chychrun stopped just inside the blue line and made a perfect pass to Eller, who scored from close range, lifting the puck over Knight’s blocker.
After a scoreless second period, Washington took a 2-1 lead early in the third with a five-on-three power-play goal. Just 78 seconds into the period, Chychrun scored from the point, using Pierre-Luc Dubois as a screen to beat Knight on the glove side.
The two penalties that set up the five-on-three were for tripping against Uvis Balinskis and slashing against Aaron Ekblad.
With 2:24 left in the game, Florida pulled Knight for an extra attacker, but Washington capitalized with two empty-net goals.
