Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) moves the puck ahead of Florida Panthers right wing Patric Hornqvist (70). Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

Capitals rally in third period to upset top-seeded Panthers in Game 1

By Adam Stites | Last updated 5/3/22

The Washington Capitals have a 1-0 lead against the top team in the Eastern Conference after beating the Florida Panthers, 4-2, on Tuesday.

In the regular season, Florida was 39-0-1 in the 40 games it led after two periods. The Panthers led 2-1 after the second period, but Alex Ovechkin got a steal in the third period and found Evgeny Kuznetsov for a game-tying goal with less than 12 minutes left.

THE BIRD TAKES FLIGHT! pic.twitter.com/0zCppfF69W
— x - Washington Capitals (@Capitals) May 4, 2022

About two minutes later, T.J. Oshie redirected a pass from Nicklas Backstrom into the net to give the Capitals the lead.

B-E-A-UUUUTIFUL pic.twitter.com/garQt2scQD
— x - Washington Capitals (@Capitals) May 4, 2022

The game-sealing goal came in the final minute when Lars Eller put the puck into an empty net with 49 seconds left.

The Panthers finished the regular season with a NHL-best 58-18-6 record. The Capitals earned the final wild card berth in the Eastern Conference by finishing 44-26-12.

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