AP

Comeback Cats do it again, rally to top Caps 5-3 in Game 5

May 11, 2022, 7:26 AM | Updated: 8:23 pm

Florida Panthers center Carter Verhaeghe (23) scores a goal against Washington Capitals goaltender ...

Florida Panthers center Carter Verhaeghe (23) scores a goal against Washington Capitals goaltender Ilya Samsonov (30) during the third period of Game 5 of the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup hockey playoffs, Wednesday, May 11, 2022, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)


              Washington Capitals right wing T.J. Oshie (77) reacts after scoring a goal during the first period of Game 5 of the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup hockey playoffs against the Florida Panthers, Wednesday, May 11, 2022, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
            
              Washington Capitals left wing Conor Sheary (73) attempts shoot on the goal as Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) defends during the first period of Game 5 of the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup hockey playoffs, Wednesday, May 11, 2022, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
            
              A member of the coaching staff works with goaltender Ilya Samsonov (30) during the second period of Game 5 in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup hockey playoffs against the Florida Panthers, Wednesday, May 11, 2022, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
            
              Washington Capitals left wing Conor Sheary (73) and Florida Panthers defenseman Ben Chiarot (8) go for the puck during the first period of Game 5 of the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup hockey playoffs, Wednesday, May 11, 2022, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
            
              Florida Panthers right wing Patric Hornqvist (70) scores a goal past Washington Capitals goaltender Ilya Samsonov (30) during the second period of Game 5 of the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup hockey playoffs, Wednesday, May 11, 2022, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
            
              Florida Panthers center Carter Verhaeghe (23) looks at the scoreboard after scoring a goal during the second period of Game 5 of the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup hockey playoffs against the Washington Capitals, Wednesday, May 11, 2022, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
            
              Florida Panthers center Carter Verhaeghe (23) scores a goal against Washington Capitals goaltender Ilya Samsonov (30) during the third period of Game 5 of the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup hockey playoffs, Wednesday, May 11, 2022, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Carter Verhaeghe was brought to the Florida Panthers for big postseason moments.

Like this one.

Verhaeghe set a Panthers franchise playoff record with a five-point night — two goals, three assists — and the Comeback Cats pulled off another rally, this one obviously the most important of their season. Florida erased a 3-0 deficit to beat the Washington Capitals 5-3 on Wednesday night, taking a 3-2 lead in the teams’ Eastern Conference first-round series.

“Things are going pretty well right now for me,” said Verhaeghe, who helped Tampa Bay win a Stanley Cup in 2020. “And the team. We’re up 3-2, we have two chances to win one game, things are looking pretty good.”

Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 30 shots for Florida. Patric Hornqvist, Claude Giroux and Sam Reinhart also scored for the Panthers, and Aleksander Barkov had two assists.

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.

“Giving up a three-goal lead, I don’t know how many times we’ve done that this year,” Oshie said.

The answer would be twice.

Both times, at Florida.

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.

“We didn’t start the way we wanted to … then we started to play the right way,” Barkov said.

Verhaeghe gave the Panthers the lead to stay at 3:04 of the third, after a pair of marvelous plays at both ends. He created a turnover deep in the zone, sent the puck to Barkov and then went into a full sprint for about 100 feet of ice to find a spot to receive the return pass.

Barkov put it on his stick, Verhaeghe put it into the net, and Florida led 4-3. Bobrovsky slammed the door from there, Giroux scored the insurance goal at 15:55, and the Comeback Cats had done it again.

“Felt like we gave that game away,” Washington’s Nicklas Backstrom said.

This was the season of the comeback for Florida, which had an NHL-best 29 come-from-behind wins during the regular season. The Panthers pulled off five wins after trailing by three goals, and rallied in the final moments of Game 4 to force overtime in Washington before winning early in the extra session and tying the series.

Florida’s rally matched the largest in an NHL playoff game since April 19, 2011, when the San Jose Sharks erased a four-goal deficit to beat the Los Angeles Kings 6-5. There had been three two-goal deficits in these playoffs entering Wednesday, but nobody had successfully dug out of a three-goal hole.

Until now.

Oshie opened the scoring at 7:09 of the first, doing what he probably does best — redirection. He set up in the slot, obstructing Bobrovsky as best he could, then changed the flight of a shot by John Carlson just enough to get it into the net for a 1-0 Washington lead.

It stayed that way until the second, when two goals in a span of 1:25 looked to give Washington full control. Schultz found a crease within a maze of bodies in front of the net and blasted the puck through to make it 2-0, and Oshie finished off a pass from Kuznetsov on a 2-on-1 break to make it 3-0.

And that’s when the Panthers did what they do best — rally.

“There’s two games that were played,” Washington coach Peter Laviolette said. “There was a game to push it to 3-0 where I liked everything we did. … And then there’s a game that took place after that.”

In a span of 7:51, Florida went from down three and in huge trouble to tied going into the third. Verhaeghe watched the puck come off the end boards and batted it in to get Florida on the scoreboard. Hornqvist went over Samsonov’s glove on a breakaway, and the equalizer came from Reinhart. He picked up a loose puck at the edge of the crease and tapped it into the back of the net to make it 3-3 going into the third.

The Capitals were 20-1-0 in games when they led by at least three goals at any point this season, including playoffs. The one defeat — Nov. 30, when a 4-1 lead going into the third became a 5-4 loss.

The opponent that night? That would be the Panthers.

“I thought we started taking over the game like we’ve done so many times this year,” Panthers interim coach Andrew Brunette said. “Showed our resiliency and belief that we’re in any hockey game.”

NOTES

Florida’s last 3-2 series lead was a decade ago, the 2012 first round against New Jersey. The Panthers lost Games 6 and 7, the finale at home in double overtime. … Florida went 0 for 3 on the power play, dropping the Panthers to 0 for 16 in the series and 3 for 26 against the Capitals this season. … Florida’s longest stretch of games in the regular season without a power-play goal was seven, from Nov. 8-20. The Panthers had at least one man-advantage goal in six of the final seven games of the season, but remain blanked through the first five games of this series. … Oshie had the sixth multi-goal playoff game of his career.

UP NEXT

Game 6 is Friday in Washington.

___

More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Associated Press

Ex-Packer Guion gets 1 year for domestic violence assault

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Former Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Letroy Guion was sentenced to one year in jail after pleading no contest in a domestic violence assault at his home last fall. Brown County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Walsh also ordered Guion on Tuesday to serve three years’ probation and complete a domestic […]

1 year ago

Joe Jarzynka...

Associated Press

Durant eager for Suns debut vs. Hornets after knee injury

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kevin Durant has been through quite a bit during his 15-year NBA career — but joining a new team midway through the season is a new one for the 13-time All-Star. The 34-year-old Durant doesn’t seem all that worried. Durant makes his highly anticipated Phoenix Suns debut on Wednesday night against […]

1 year ago

FILE - Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores stands on the sideline during the second half of an N...

Associated Press

Judge: NFL coach can press discrimination claims in court

NEW YORK (AP) — NFL Coach Brian Flores can pursue some of his discrimination claims against the league and its teams in court rather than through arbitration, a judge ruled Wednesday. The written decision by Judge Valerie Caproni in Manhattan was issued months after lawyers for the league tried to get the lawsuit moved to […]

1 year ago

Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Alex Stalock cools off in the first period during an NHL hockey game ...

Associated Press

Kane trade reinforces hard reality of Blackhawks rebuild

CHICAGO (AP) — After days of speculation, the harsh reality of the Chicago Blackhawks’ situation was reinforced by one move in a flurry of transactions ahead of the NHL trade deadline. Showtime is over, at least in Chicago, and a seemingly bright future is, well, way off in the distance. The reverberations of Chicago’s decision […]

1 year ago

FILE -  Yves Jean-Bart, president of the Haitian Football Federation, wearing a protective face mas...

Associated Press

Disgraced ex-Haitian soccer president announces he’s back

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s former soccer federation president whose lifetime ban from sport over sexual abuse allegations was overturned last month announced Wednesday that he is reclaiming his position. Yves Jean-Bart’s defiant announcement could lead to a standoff with FIFA, which already has appointed an emergency management committee to lead the Haitian Football Association […]

1 year ago

FILE - Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers walks off the field after an NFL football game against the ...

Associated Press

Rodgers says decision on future will come ‘soon enough’

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers says he will make a decision on his future “soon enough” as the four-time MVP quarterback ponders whether to play next season and if his future remains with the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers, 39, discussed his future while speaking on an episode of the “Aubrey Marcus Podcast” that […]

1 year ago

Comeback Cats do it again, rally to top Caps 5-3 in Game 5