Panthers win in OT to extend hot start

SUNRISE, Fla. — Eetu Luostarinen scored 1:55 into overtime to give the Panthers a 5-4 win over the Washington Capitals and Florida its best 10-game start to a season.

Luostarinen’s centering pass went off a Capitals player and into the net, moving the Panthers to 9-0-1 with 19 points. The team’s previous best 10-game start was in 1996-97, with a 7-0-3 record and 17 points.

Florida’s Aleksander Barkov scored two goals, raising his career total to 188, tied with Olli Jokinen for the most in franchise history. Aaron Ekblad had a goal and assist, and Brandon Montour also scored for the Panthers.

Spencer Knight stopped 25 shots after entering the game to start the second period. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped all 13 shots he faced before leaving after the first period with an upper-body injury.

Alex Ovechkin scored his 10th goal of the season and had two assists. Connor McMichael, Tom Wilson and Daniel Sprong also scored for the Capitals.

lya Samsonov stopped 15 of 18 shots before being replaced by Vitek Vanecek in the second period. Vanecek made 13 saves.

McMichael scored when he grabbed a loose puck in front and tied the score at 4-all with 13:04 left in the third period.

Trailing 4-1, the Caps scored two goals in the final 1:49 of the second period.

Ovechkin’s goal, a wrist shot past Knight, made the score 4-2. Ovechkin has 740 career goals.

Wilson redirected a shot by John Carlson into the net with 16.8 left to pull the Capitals within 4-3.

Ahead 2-1, the Panthers stretched their lead to 3-1 on Montour’s goal, a shot from above the right circle that went into the top left corner of the net at 7:16 of the second.

Barkov found a loose puck in the crease for a power-play goal that made the score 4-1 with 4:28 left in the second.

Barkov put the Panthers ahead 1-0 when he backhanded in a rebound of his shot at 3:07 of the first.

Ekblad stretched the lead to 2-0 on a slap shot from above the right circle at 11:04 of the first.