Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Forsling scores in OT to lift Panthers
SUNRISE — Defenseman Gustav Forsling scored at 3:41 of overtime to give the Florida Panthers a 3-2 victory over Washington on Saturday night in Capitals star Alex Ovechkin’s 1,400th NHL game.
Aleksander Barkov tied it for Florida on a power play with 3:30 to go in regulation, beating goalie Charlie Lindgren with a deflection of Carter Verhaeghe’s longrange snap shot. Forsling ended it with a one-timer from the right side on a 3-on-1 break.
“Sometimes, you just got to surprise them,” Forsling said of his decision to jump in on the 3-on-1 rush. “I figured I could go at them and surprise them a little bit. It could’ve been a breakaway, but it worked out.”
Ovechkin became the 41st skater in NHL history to reach the milestone. He’s the 10th do it with one team and is the second active player to do it, joining Dallas defenseman Ryan Suter.
Nick Cousins also scored for the Panthers (38-16-4). Anthony Stolarz made 22 saves.
Sonny Milano and Tom Wilson scored for Washington. Lindgren stopped 26 shots.
“The ending was tough,” Washington coach Spencer Carbery said. “We did a lot of good things throughout the game and it was real tight. There was not much going on either way but both teams are really structured and there wasn’t a ton of Grade-A (chances) on either side.”
Pierrick Dube made his NHL debut for the Capitals, becoming the 13th player born in France to play in the league. He joins Pierre-Eduoard Bellemare, Xavier
Oullett and Alexadre Texier as the fourth active French player in the NHL .
Cousins scored his first goal since Nov. 6, snapping a 34-game drought.
“Good for him,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “It has been a bit of a grinder for him coming off his injuries and getting back to form, and he gets a goal in an area that he spends a lot of time in.”
Up next
The Panthers host Buffalo on Tuesday night.