Capitals Edge Panthers 4-3 as St. Ivany Nets First NHL Goal in Washington

The Washington Capitals held off a late Florida Panthers rally to win 4-3 on Saturday afternoon at Capital One Arena, and the Capitals Panthers 4-3 result turned on a moment nobody will soon forget: rookie defenceman Jack St. Ivany's first career NHL goal. St. Ivany opened the scoring at 2:21 of the first period, and Washington never trailed again, even as the Tkachuk brothers combined for five points and Sam Bennett pulled Florida within one with 45 seconds left. Logan Thompson made 27 saves as the Capitals snapped a two-game losing streak.

Key Points

• Jack St. Ivany scored his first career NHL goal at 2:21 of the first period, beating Akira Schmid from a sharp angle after intercepting a clearing attempt.
• Pierre-Luc Dubois and Aliaksei Protas each had a goal and an assist, combining on Washington's second- and third-period goals.
• Brady Tkachuk scored twice and Matthew Tkachuk had three assists for Florida, five points between the brothers in defeat.
• Tom Wilson took a boarding major and a game misconduct in the first period; Florida scored on the five-minute power play.
• Sam Bennett made it 4-3 with 45 seconds left, but Logan Thompson's 27 saves held up for Washington.

Capitals Panthers 4-3: How Washington Held On

Barely two minutes in, Florida goaltender Akira Schmid tried to clear the puck from behind his own net. St. Ivany read it, stepped in at the boards and fired a snap shot from a sharp angle that beat Schmid for 1-0, the first goal of his NHL career. Florida answered less than a minute later, when the Capitals turned the puck over in their own zone and Matthew Tkachuk set up his brother Brady in close for 1-1 at 3:13, on the Panthers' first shot on goal. Florida took its only lead at 10:00, when Wilson's boarding major and game misconduct brought a five-minute power play and Brady Tkachuk scored again in front of the net to make it 2-1.

Washington steadied itself in the second period. Alex Tuch tied it 2-2 at 4:39 of the middle frame after a neutral-zone turnover, and at 14:55 Dubois threaded a no-look pass to Protas, who caught Schmid out of position to put the Capitals back in front 3-2. Dubois finished the job himself at 4:42 of the third, taking a cross-ice pass from Protas and deking around Schmid to stretch the lead to 4-2.

Florida kept coming, and with 45 seconds left Sam Bennett redirected a shot by Matthew Tkachuk past Thompson to make it 4-3. The final seconds were frantic, but Thompson and the Washington defence held the line. The goaltending numbers told the story of two teams trading chances all afternoon: Thompson stopped 27 shots for Washington, and Schmid matched him with 27 saves for Florida.

Background: A Skid, a Homestand and Two Brothers on One Line

The win mattered because of the week before it. The Capitals arrived on a two-game losing streak, the most recent defeat a painful 6-5 loss to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday at the same building, in which Jason Robertson's natural hat trick in five minutes and 20 seconds set up a 5-1 lead Washington nearly erased. That defeat left the Capitals at 8-6-0, and Saturday was the last game of a three-game homestand. Florida arrived in different form, having beaten Chicago 5-3 on Wednesday behind Sandis Vilmanis' first career four-point night, and the Panthers had won four of their previous five before dropping two of their last three. The Tkachuk brothers drew the most attention: Brady scored twice, Matthew set up three goals, and between them they were involved in every Florida goal, yet the Panthers still lost.

Reactions: What the Numbers Say

No post-game quotes were included in the game report, so the clearest reactions on Saturday came from the score sheet. Washington got goals from four different players, with Dubois and Protas each contributing a goal and an assist, the spread a team needs when its opponent's stars are producing. Florida's stars produced more, with the Tkachuk brothers combining for five points, and still lost, because Washington matched them goal for goal and Thompson made the late saves. The Wilson major was the turning point in the other direction: Florida converted the five-minute power play, and Washington's kill of the rest of it, followed by a second-period lead, showed the discipline of a team that refused to let one bad sequence define the afternoon.

Why It Matters

Saturday's result matters first because of what it stops. A two-game losing streak is a footnote; a three-game losing streak at home is the start of a story nobody in Washington wants told. By holding off Florida, the Capitals kept a difficult week from becoming a damaging one, and they did it against a Panthers team that had won four of five. It matters too because of how Washington won: a rookie's first goal, a goal and an assist each from Dubois and Protas, a timely strike from Tuch, and 27 saves from Thompson. That is depth scoring and solid goaltending, the formula that carries teams through long seasons. For Florida, even five points from the Tkachuk brothers was not enough.

What Happens Next

Washington leaves its three-game homestand with a win to carry onto the road, and the task now is to turn one good afternoon into a run. The Capitals showed they can win without everything going their way: they lost Wilson to a game misconduct, gave up a five-minute power play, and watched Florida's best players produce, and still found a way. If Dubois and Protas keep producing together, the losing streak will look like a blip. Florida's next test is a mental one: two losses in three games will ask questions about secondary scoring, and the schedule offers no time to dwell on a one-goal defeat. For St. Ivany: keep the puck, keep the memory.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the final score between the Capitals and Panthers?
Washington beat Florida 4-3 on Saturday, November 7, 2026, at Capital One Arena. The Capitals snapped a two-game losing streak and ended a three-game homestand with the win.

Who scored Jack St. Ivany's first NHL goal?
St. Ivany scored it himself, at 2:21 of the first period. He intercepted a clearing attempt by Florida goaltender Akira Schmid at the boards and scored on a snap shot from a sharp angle.

How many points did the Tkachuk brothers combine for?
Five. Brady Tkachuk scored twice and Matthew Tkachuk recorded three assists for Florida, including the helper on Sam Bennett's late goal.

Why did Tom Wilson leave the game?
Wilson was issued a major penalty for boarding and a game misconduct in the first period. Florida scored on the resulting five-minute power play, with Brady Tkachuk making it 2-1.

Read more on US News Pulse: Jason Robertson's natural hat trick powered Dallas past the Capitals 6-5 earlier in the week, the Panthers' 5-3 win over Chicago behind Sandis Vilmanis' four-point night, and Carolina's franchise-record nine-goal rout of Chicago on the same Saturday night.