WASHINGTON (AP) — Roberto Luongo doesn’t want to think about the long climb the Florida Panthers would have to make get to the playoffs.Each victory gets them a little closer Derek Grant Jersey Womens , and they’ve won two in a row and six of their past eight games after beating the Washington Capitals 5-4 in overtime Saturday. Luongo made 26 saves and Mike Hoffman scored the winning goal on the power play to move Florida nine points back of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.“Sometimes when you look at the big picture, it can get a little bit overwhelming and you want to stay focused on the task at hand,” Luongo said after becoming just the third goaltender in NHL history to start 1,000 regular-season games. “Obviously we’ve got to win a lot of games. But I’ve always been the type of person that doesn’t like to look at the big picture that much. Big win tonight.”Hoffman’s goal came 1:31 into overtime with Brett Connolly in the penalty box for slashing with 3.6 seconds left in the third period. The Panthers bounced back from allowing the tying goal to Evgeny Kuznetsov with 3:06 remaining to win in overtime for the second consecutive game.Frank Vatrano, Keith Yandle, Colton Sceviour and Derick Brassard scored in regulation for Florida, which is back on the fringe of the race in the East thanks to its recent run. The Panthers still have three teams between them and a playoff position in the conference and might need 12 out of 14 points on their upcoming homestand to stay in it ahead of the Feb. 25 trade deadline.“We’ve got to play well,” said Yandle, who set up Hoffman’s 4-on-3 power play goal. “We know going forward there’s not a lot of room for error Erik Karlsson Jersey Womens , and we’ve got to play well every night.”The power play that is tops in the NHL since Nov. 1 delivered on a goal one second after T.J. Oshie’s penalty expired in the first period and then again in overtime. Coach Bob Boughner called the power play his team’s “backbone” all season.The defending Stanley Cup champion Capitals continued to lack discipline and lead the NHL with 199 minor penalties this season. Connolly scored twice, but his offensive-zone slash on Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov with the clock running out contributed to Washington’s winning streak being snapped at two.“I can’t take that penalty,” Connolly said. “It’s tough. It’s an important time of the game.”Lars Eller also scored for Washington, and Kuznetsov’s goal was his fourth in five games. Braden Holtby 26 saves and fell victim to some bad bounces, deflections and miscues on the goals he allowed.Luongo picked up his first victory in Washington since 2011 and moved to within one of tying Ed Belfour for third on the NHL’s all-time list. Luongo joined Hall of Famers Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy as the only goaltenders with 1,000 career starts and tied Roy for second in all-time games played with 1,029.The 39-year-old said he didn’t know until about an hour before the game about the milestone.“Sure, it’s a lot of games,” Luongo said. “We’re just playing to win games Patrick Maroon Jersey Womens , trying to get back in the playoff race. That’s our goal, and that’s my goal personally is, I want to take part in the playoffs again. They’re nice when they come and go, but it’s not really something I keep tabs on that much.”Luongo and the Panthers will keep tabs on the standings as they hope to replicate the 25-8-2 run that got them close to a playoff spot last season. With 29 games to go, Florida is still building to that point.“I think we’ve just got a bit of our swagger back,” Luongo said. “We believe in ourselves and the way we’re playing. We’ve been finding different ways to win. We’re getting a little bit of that momentum going like we did last year. It’s just a matter of you’ve got to keep plugging away night after night here.”NOTES: Capitals D Christian Djoos returned after missing 24 games with compartment syndrome in his left leg. … With Djoos back, the Capitals were fully healthy for the first time this season in their 55th game. … RW Devante Smith-Pelly was a healthy scratch for Washington. … Panthers D MacKenzie Weegar missed his second consecutive game with an illness.UP NEXTPanthers: Open a seven-game homestand Sunday against the NHL-leading Tampa Bay Lightning.Capitals: Wrap up a six-game homestand Monday against the Los Angeles Kings. TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Brayden Point scored the deciding goal in a shootout for the second consecutive game, lifting the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 4-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night.Tyler Johnson Tyler Bozak Jersey Womens , Chris Kunitz and Adam Erne scored in regulation for the NHL-leading Lightning, who played most of the game without Nikita Kucherov after the league’s top scorer was injured. Still, the Atlantic Division leaders edged second-place Toronto hours after acquiring defenseman Ryan McDonagh and forward J.T. Miller in a blockbuster deal with the New York Rangers just before the NHL trade deadline.Tampa Bay parted with forward Vladimir Namestnikov, two prospects and two draft picks – a first-round selection in 2018 and a conditional first-rounder in 2019.James van Riemsdyk, Mitch Marner and Tyler Bozak had the goals for Toronto, which played without injured star Auston Matthews. Frederik Andersen stopped 39 shots.Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 27 saves for Tampa Bay. He denied Marner on a penalty shot with 6:02 left in the third period to keep the score tied.Kucherov left with 5:41 remaining in the first and did not return. The team announced he sustained an upper-body injury. The two-time All-Star has 82 points in 63 games.KINGS 3, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 2LOS ANGELES (AP) – Anze Kopitar tied the game with 10.8 seconds left in the third period and Dustin Brown scored a power-play goal 3:14 into overtime, rallying Los Angeles past Vegas.Jeff Carter, in his second game back after missing 55 with a cut tendon Chad Johnson Jersey Womens , scored the Kings‘ first goal on a power play at 12:28 of the third. Jonathan Quick stopped 37 shots.Erik Haula and Reilly Smith scored for Vegas. Marc-Andre Fleury made 41 saves.It was the first victory for the Kings in three games against the expansion Golden Knights. The teams meet again Tuesday in Las Vegas.BLUE JACKETS 5, CAPITALS 1COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Seth Jones and Cam Atkinson each had a goal and two assists as Columbus topped Washington.Columbus scored four goals in the first period – two on power plays – in winning its second game in three days and first in four tries against the Capitals this season. Artemi Panarin had a goal and an assist, and Sonny Milano and Mark Letestu – acquired in a trade Sunday – also scored.Sergei Bobrovsky made 25 saves for the Blue Jackets, who held onto the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with a knot of teams still in contention.Alex Ovechkin got his league-leading 39th goal for Washington. Braden Holtby made 12 saves in the first period and Philipp Grubauer had 18 in the last two.FLYERS 1, CANADIENS 0, SOMONTREAL (AP) – Sean Couturier scored in the sixth round of the shootout and Philadelphia edged Montreal for its season-best sixth straight victory.Petr Mrazek, making his third straight start for the streaking Flyers, stopped 28 shots in his fourth shutout this season. Mrazek is 3-0-0 since being acquired from Detroit last Monday.Philadelphia passed Washington for first place in the Metropolitan Division. The Flyers have earned at least one point in 12 straight games (10-0-2).Backup goalie Charlie Lindgren made 33 saves for the Canadiens Brian Flynn Jersey Womens , who have lost eight of nine.Both teams scored one goal after five shootout rounds before Couturier beat Lindgren in the sixth.The Canadiens have been shut out nine times this season, tying a franchise record.AVALANCHE 3, CANUCKS 1DENVER (AP) – Nathan MacKinnon had two goals and an assist, and Mikko Rantanen added a goal and an assist in Colorado’s victory over Vancouver.Semyon Varlamov made 31 saves and came within 1:16 of his third shutout this season. The Avalanche won for the 11th time in 12 home games and moved within two points of idle Calgary for the second wild card in the Western Conference.Daniel Sedin scored and Jacob Markstrom stopped 25 shots for the Canucks.—
power play at 12:28
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