JONATHAN HUBERDEAU

The Florida Panthers found what made them the NHL's best regular-season team just in time to win the franchise's first playoff series in 26 years.

Carter Verhaeghe scored the overtime winner to send the Panthers to the second round by beating the Washington Capitals 4-3 in Game 6.

Panthers Capitals Hockey Washington Capitals goaltender Ilya Samsonov (30) and Florida Panthers left wing Jonathan Huberdeau (11) watch as the puck deflects off the pads of Samsonov during the second period of Game 3 in the first-round of the NHL Stanley Cup hockey playoffs, Saturday, May 7, 2022, in Washington. Samsonov made 29 saves, Alex Ovechkin scored a power-play goal and assisted on another and the Capitals blew out the Panthers 6-1 in Game 3 to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round series. The Panthers also led the league in scoring at more than four goals a game. The Eastern Conference eighth-seeded Capitals improved to 4 of 12 on the power play in the series. ___Follow AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno___More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsCopyright 2022 The Associated Press.

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.

Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe each had a goal and an assist and the Florida Panthers topped the Washington Capitals 5-1 on Thursday night to even their Eastern Conference first-round series at a game apiece.

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The Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes are among the contenders looking to get over the hump this year and win the Stanley Cup.

The Maple Leafs again held an early lead on the Panthers but failed to hold onto it. On April 5 in their last visit, Toronto led Florida 5-1 in the second period but ended up losing 7-6 in overtime. Saturday night, the Panthers fell behind 2-0 after the first period but were able to come back. NOTES: The Maple Leafs welcomed star center Auston Matthews back to the lineup after he missed three games with an undisclosed injury. The Maple Leafs’ previous best was 105 in 2017-18; the Panthers’ was 103 in 2015-16.

Brandon Montour scored 2:26 into overtime and the NHL-leading Florida Panthers extended their winning streak to a franchise-record 13 games by beating the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 on Saturday night.

Aleksander Barkov scored his 38th goal of the season and the Florida Panthers tied a franchise record with their 12th straight win, beating the Detroit Red Wings 5-2.

Anton Lundell scored twice and the Florida Panthers extended their winning streak to 10 games with a 6-1 rout of the Detroit Red Wings.

Washington star Alexander Ovechkin and high-scoring Edmonton teammates Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl headline the rosters for the NHL All-Star Weekend announced Thursday.

Steven Stamkos, Zach Bogosian and Brayden Point scored for Tampa Bay, which lost for only the second time in 11 games this month. Stamkos scored his 15th goal at 6:19 of the second to cut Tampa Bay’s deficit to 4-2. Bogosian scored his second goal, on a shot near the right end line, to make it 3-1 at 15:31 of the first. … The teams split the first two meetings this season, both at Tampa Bay. The Panthers won the first one 4-1 on Oct. 19, and the Lightning prevailed 3-2 in overtime Nov. 13.

Anthony Duclair scored twice, Jonathan Huberdeau had a goal and four assists, and the Florida Panthers romped to a 9-3 rout of the NHL-leading Tampa Bay Lightning.

Jaylen Waddle had nine catches for a season-best 137 yards and a touchdown, and the Miami Dolphins forced Cam Newton into one of the worst statistical days of his career on the way to beating the Carolina Panthers 33-10 on Sunday.

Panthers Red Wings Hockey Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) celebrates his goal with Jonathan Huberdeau (11) and MacKenzie Weegar (52) in overtime during an NHL hockey game Friday, Oct. 29, 2021, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) (Paul Sancya)DETROIT — (AP) — Aleksander Barkov scored in overtime and the Florida Panthers — playing a day after coach Joe Quenneville resigned amid a sex scandal — beat Detroit 3-2 on Friday to run their season-opening winning streak to eight. Andrew Brunette, an assistant under Quenneville, directed the Panthers as interim coach. Sam Gagner and Pius Suter scored for Detroit, with Suter tying it with 3:41 left in regulation with his first goal of the season. ___More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsCopyright 2021 The Associated Press.

Aleksander Barkov scored in overtime and the Florida Panthers — playing a day after coach Joe Quenneville resigned amid a sex scandal — beat Detroit 3-2 on Friday to run their season-opening winning streak to eight.

Andrew Brunette is ready to coach the Florida Panthers for as long as the team needs.

The Panthers are rolling this season but coach Joel Quenneville being named in a report detailing how the Chicago Blackhawks mishandled sexual assault allegations that an assistant on his staff sexually assaulted a player during the team’s Stanley Cup run in 2010 could derail Florida's hopes.

Matt Ryan passed for 336 yards and Younghoe Koo made a 36-yard field goal as time expired to give the Atlanta Falcons a 30-28 win over the Miami Dolphins.

Aleksander Barkov and the Florida Panthers have agreed on an $80 million, eight-year contract extension with an annual cap hit of $10 million.

The Florida Panthers entrusted their season to a rookie goalie making his playoff debut.

Alex Killorn scored a pair of second-period goals and the Tampa Bay Lightning rebounded from its first postseason loss to rout the Florida Panthers 6-2 and take a commanding 3-1 lead in the first-round Central Division playoff matchup.

Postseason experience can be a valuable asset in the NHL playoffs.

Ryan Lomberg scored on a breakaway 5:56 into overtime to cap a furious comeback and give the Florida Panthers a 6-5 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 3 of their first-round playoff matchup.

Brayden Point scored two late goals, including the game-winner with 1:14 left in the third period, to lift the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning over the Florida Panthers 5-4 to take Game 1 of their playoff series.

There used to be a thing called the Governor’s Cup, a trophy presented to whichever team won the annual regular season series between the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Lightning opened the game with the first all-Black line in NHL history -- Mathieu Joseph, Gemel Smith and Daniel Walcott. The Panthers had the best point percentage in team history, best home record and best road record. COOPER’S MARKThis was the eighth full season on the Tampa Bay bench for Lightning coach Jon Cooper. He is 42 games shy of tying Doug Jarvis’ NHL record. Tampa Bay had five players appear in all 56 games -- Joseph, Brayden Point, Mikhail Sergachev, Yanni Gourde and Alex Killorn.

Chris Driedger stopped 30 shots to record his third shutout of the season, Juho Lammikko scored a short-handed goal, and the Florida Panthers secured home-ice advantage for the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs with a 4-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in the regular season finale for both clubs.

Florida’s 6-1-2 start through nine games is the second-best in franchise history, topped only by the 6-0-3 record to open the 1996-97 season. “We've been consistent in most games," Florida coach Joel Quenneville said. Starting poorly, however, has pretty much snuffed out some Panthers seasons before they even started. The five Florida teams that went to the playoffs — 1995-96, 1996-97, 1999-2000, 2011-12 and 2015-16 — averaged 12 standings points through the season’s first nine games. There’s obviously a long way to go, but the Panthers finally have the start they wanted.