JOHN CARLSON

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.

Valeri Nichushkin scored the game-winning goal with 7:58 left, and the Colorado Avalanche became the first team to advance to the second round Monday night by finishing a sweep of the Nashville Predators 5-3 Monday night.

Ilya Samsonov made 29 saves as the Washington Capitals beat the Florida Panthers 6-1 in Game 3 to take a lead in their first-round playoff series.

Bruins Capitals Hockey Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov, far left, and defenseman Martin Fehervary, center, right, react after teammate John Carlson scored a goal against the Boston Bruins during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, April 10, 2022, in Washington. Looking on are Boston Bruins' Josh Brown (44) and goaltender Linus Ullmark (35). (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) (Julio Cortez)WASHINGTON — (AP) — Lars Eller made the best of his move back to center, scoring the go-ahead goal and assisting on another to help the Washington Capitals beat the Boston Bruins 4-2 Sunday and extend their winning streak to three. With Eller as an important part of the rotation, Washington's penalty kill was a perfect 4 of 4 against Boston's power play. The Capitals held a moment of silence for former Washington quarterback Dwayne Haskins, who was killed Saturday in an auto accident.

Lars Eller had a goal and an assist to help the Washington Capitals beat the Boston Bruins 4-2 for their third consecutive victory.

LOS ANGELES — (AP) — Garnet Hathaway scored twice late in the third period and the Washington Capitals beat Los Angeles 2-0 Wednesday night, snapping the Kings' eight-game point streak. The Capitals extended their point streak to six (5-0-1) with the win. “It was a really good performance by him. He did a really good job,” Laviolette said of Samsanov. It is the second time the Kings, 7-0-1 during their streak, have been shut out this season.

Garnet Hathaway a pair of goals during a two-minute span in the third period and the Washington Capitals snapped the Los Angeles Kings eight-game point streak with a 2-0 victory Wednesday night.

Sabres Capitals Hockey Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) celebrates his goal with teammates in the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres, Monday, Nov. 8, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) (Patrick Semansky)WASHINGTON — (AP) — Alex Ovechkin scored his 741st career goal to tie Brett Hull for fourth on the NHL’s all-time list, and helped the Washington Capitals beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-3 on Monday night. Ovechkin also assisted two goals, including Wilson's first, which gave Washington an early lead it never relinquished. Cody Eakin, Anders Bjork and Colin Miller scored for the Sabres, who suffered a fifth consecutive defeat, with four of those coming in regulation. Carlson added his goal with just over two minutes remaining, before Miller scored the Sabres' consolation tally.

Alex Ovechkin scored his 741st career goal to tie Brett Hull for fourth on the NHL’s all-time list and help the Washington Capitals to a 5-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.

Michael Raffl scored from a tight angle with 1.8 seconds remaining and the Washington Capitals beat the short-handed Boston Bruins 2-1 in the teams’ regular season finale.

Conor Sheary scored the overtime winner and the short-handed Washington Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 to guarantee they’ll open the playoffs at home.

Alex Ovechkin scored twice to move within one goal of Marcel Dionne for fifth place on the NHL’s career goals list as the Washington Capitals downed the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3.

Mathew Barzal had three goals and two assists, Jordan Eberle scored twice, and the New York Islanders beat the Washington Capitals 8-4.

Washington Capitals right wing T.J. Oshie (77) celebrates his goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils, Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)WASHINGTON – T.J. Oshie scored twice to end a lengthy drought, Alex Ovechkin had a late power-play goal and the Washington Capitals came back from down two to beat the New Jersey Devils 4-3 on Sunday. Anderson and New Jersey's Aaron Dell each hadn't started an NHL game in more than 11 months. The Capitals and Devils each played at home Saturday afternoon, so this adjustment was possible. Samsonov got two minor league rehab starts but hasn't played an NHL game since Jan. 17.

New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafrenire (13) scores a goal past Washington Capitals goaltender Vitek Vanecek (41) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, in Washington. Also seen are Capitals defenseman John Carlson (74) and Rangers center Mika Zibanejad (93). Lafrenière scored his second NHL goal, Panarin had two assists and the Rangers made the best of a new-look lineup, beating the Washington Capitals 4-1 Saturday for their second consecutive victory. Panarin set up Lafrenière on the doorstep late in the second period, and his shot provided the rebound for Chris Kreider's power-play goal in the first. Zibanejad's goal was just his second since last season after scoring 41 in 57 games in 2019-20.

Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) celebrates his goal with the bench during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Monday, Feb. 1, 2021, in Washington. Buoyed by their top scorer's first two goals of the season and a big rookie's fight against one of the toughest players in hockey, the Bruins erased a three-goal deficit to beat the Washington Capitals 5-3 on Monday night. “In the box, I was like a little kid in there just jumping around when we scored,” Frederic said. The Capitals had front-row seats for Pastrnak's breakout performance in his second game after undergoing offseason hip surgery. Former Bruins captain Zdeno Chara scored in his second game against his old team.

(AP Photo/Nick Wass)WASHINGTON – Jakub Vrana had a goal and an assist, Vitek Vanecek made 24 saves through overtime and the short-handed Washington Capitals beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 in a shootout Friday night in their home opener. Vanecek was perfect in the shootout to pick up his second victory of the season as defenseman John Carlson scored the shootout winner. Buffalo rookie Dylan Cozens scored his first NHL goal on a top-shelf snipe past Vanecek in the second period. Eric Staal and Riley Sheahan each scored his first goal since joining the Sabres. Linus Ullmark made 29 saves and was spotless in the shootout until Carlson beat him.

Zdeno Chara is no longer in Boston after the Bruins captain signed with Washington. And the Sabres made an even bigger splash in free agency by landing 2018 NHL MVP Taylor Hall in October. Hall, for example, signed a one-year, $8 million deal with Buffalo by realizing the free-agent market was going to be tight. Oilers general manager Ken Holland chalked it up to the new economic realities facing the NHL. “It’s salary-cap related, which is related to the pandemic, which has given us a hard, flat cap for the foreseeable future,” Holland said.