Final - OT
Gelinas leads Panthers past Capitals in overtime
Mar 31, 2007 - 4:22 AM SUNRISE, Florida (Ticker) -- When the Florida Panthers needed a clutch performance to stay in the Eastern Conference playoff race, they turned to a grizzled veteran.Martin Gelinas scored the tying goal midway through the second period and netted the winner 2:01 into overtime, giving the Panthers a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals, who have lost five straight and 14 of their last 16.
Gregory Campbell also scored and Stephen Weiss added two assists for Florida (34-30-14), which moved within four points of Montreal (40-32-6) for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East. The Canadiens lost to the Ottawa Senators on Friday.
"The win is important, but the key for us is to win the rest our games," Panthers coach Jacques Martin said. "We don't control the other teams, but we have a huge game on Sunday against Carolina."
"We're still kind of in it," Florida center Jozef Stumpel added. "We still have four games left. It's just about us now."
After Capitals defenseman Steve Eminger was called for holding at 1:42 of overtime, Weiss rifled a shot from the right faceoff dot that deflected off Gelinas' foot and past goaltender Brent Johnson to give the Panthers their fifth straight win in the season series between the teams.
"I'd be lying if I told you I saw the puck," Gelinas said. "It was a great shot by Weiss. Sometimes when you put the puck on the net, you get something special."
"I didn't really see why we got a holding penalty for what Eminger did in overtime," Johnson said. "It happened at an inopportune time."
Gelinas evened the game in similar fashion at 9:54 of the second, when captain Olli Jokinen's blast also caromed into the net off the 36-year-old's skate during another power-play opportunity.
"The first one got tipped by my blade and got deflected into the net, and the second one just kind of hit my skate and went in," Gelinas said. "I never saw the scores. I must have been playing hockey."
The Capitals have allowed nine goals in 23 shorthanded situations during their skid.
"Our penalty kill has let us down, and that has been the story here the last few games," Washington coach Glen Hanlon said.
After Jakub Klepis gave Washington a 1-0 lead at 6:43 of the first period, Campbell drew Florida even with 5:59 to go in the session, when he raced down the left wing and fired a shot from the faceoff circle that found its way between the left arm and body of Johnson.
Capitals captain Chris Clark restored the lead for his team at 2:18 of the second with his 30th goal, marking the first time in his career he has reached the plateau. The 30-year-old combined for 30 tallies over the previous two seasons.
Ed Belfour stopped 30 shots for Florida, which has won three in a row.
Johnson made 32 saves for the Capitals, who have dropped eight straight road games and 21 of their last 23 away from home.
- NHL
FINAL IN OT 1ST 2ND 3RD OT TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
WASHINGTON 1 1 0 0 2
FLORIDA 1 1 0 1 3 FINAL IN OT
GOAL SCORING:
1ST PRD: WAS - JAKUB KLEPIS 3 (JIRI NOVOTNY, ALEXANDER OVECHKIN) 6:43
FLA - GREGORY CAMPBELL 6 (JANIS SPRUKTS, ALEXEI SEMENOV)
14:01
2ND PRD: WAS - (PP) CHRIS CLARK 30 (ALEXANDER SE
Mar 30 10:12 PM - NHL
WASHINGTON 2
FLORIDA 3
OT: FLA - (PP) MARTIN GELINAS 13 (STEPHEN WEISS, JOZEF STUMPEL)
2:01
Mar 30 10:09 PM - NHL
WASHINGTON 2
FLORIDA 3
OT: FLA - (PP) MARTIN GELINAS 13 (STEPHEN WEISS, JOZEF STUMPEL)
2:01
Capitals vs. PanthersMar 30 10:09 PM - NHL
END OF THE 3RD GOING INTO OT
1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
WASHINGTON 1 1 0 2
FLORIDA 1 1 0 2 GOING INTO OT
GOAL SCORING:
1ST PRD: WAS - JAKUB KLEPIS 3 (JIRI NOVOTNY, ALEXANDER OVECHKIN) 6:43
FLA - GREGORY CAMPBELL 6 (JANIS SPRUKTS, ALEXEI SEMENOV)
14:01
2ND PRD: WAS - (PP) CHRIS CLARK 30 (ALEXANDER SEMIN, ALEXANDER
OVECHKIN) 2:1
Mar 30 10:01 PM - ------------------------------
Washington
1 1 --2
Florida 1 1 --2
------------------------------
FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Washington, Jakub Klepis 3 (Jiri Novotny,
Alexander Ovechkin), 6:43. 2, Florida, Gregory Campbell 6 (Janis
Sprukts, Alexei Semenov), 14:01. Penalties: K Beech, Was
(interference), 3:44.
SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, Washington, Chris Clark 30 (power p
Mar 30 9:10 PM - NHL
WASHINGTON 2
FLORIDA 2
2ND PRD: FLA - (PP) MARTIN GELINAS 12 (OLLI JOKINEN, STEPHEN WEISS)
9:54
Capitals vs. PanthersMar 30 8:53 PM - NHL
WASHINGTON 2
FLORIDA 1
2ND PRD: WAS - (PP) CHRIS CLARK 30 (ALEXANDER SEMIN, ALEXANDER
OVECHKIN) 2:18
Capitals vs. PanthersMar 30 8:36 PM - NHL
END OF THE 1ST 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
WASHINGTON 1 1
FLORIDA 1 1 END OF THE 1ST
GOAL SCORING:
1ST PRD: WAS - JAKUB KLEPIS 3 (JIRI NOVOTNY, ALEXANDER OVECHKIN) 6:43
FLA - GREGORY CAMPBELL 6 (JANIS SPRUKTS, ALEXEI SEMENOV)
14:01
SHOTS ON GOAL: 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
WAS 7
Mar 30 8:13 PM - NHL
WASHINGTON 1
FLORIDA 1
1ST PRD: FLA - GREGORY CAMPBELL 6 (JANIS SPRUKTS, ALEXEI SEMENOV)
14:01
Capitals vs. PanthersMar 30 8:07 PM - NHL
WASHINGTON 1
FLORIDA 0
1ST PRD: WAS - JAKUB KLEPIS 3 (JIRI NOVOTNY, ALEXANDER OVECHKIN) 6:43
Capitals vs. PanthersMar 30 7:52 PM
Related News
- Capitals @ Lightning Game Thread Mar 30
- GameDay CaterThread: Florida Panthers at Montreal Canadiens Mar 30
- Lyon eyes wild card as Panthers stun Maple Leafs 3-2 in overtime Mar 30
- Thursday Caps Clips: Shootout Sadness Mar 30
- Capitals vs. Islanders Recap: Isles Capture Shootout Win Mar 29
- Capitals vs. Islanders Game Thread Mar 29
- GameThread: Florida Panthers at Toronto Maple Leafs Mar 29
- One More Rink Update Mar 29
- GameDay Caterwaul: Florida Panthers at Toronto Maple Leafs Mar 29
- Wednesday Caps Clips: Capitals vs. Islanders Game Day Mar 29
- Canadian tire fire: Penalties kill Panthers in 5-2 loss to Senators Mar 28
- Tuesday Caps Clips: Coaching Questions Mar 28