Mikael Samuelsson scored a pair of long-range goals as the Florida Panthers reclaimed first place in the Southeast Division with a 4-2 home victory over the Washington Capitals on Wednesday.
Stephen Weiss and Shawn Matthias also tallied while Tomas Fleischmann recorded a pair of assists for Florida, which halted a three-game home losing streak and moved one point ahead of Washington for the division lead.
The Capitals fell to 0-1-1 on their three-game road trip as superstar Alex Ovechkin served the final game of his three-game suspension.
After a scoreless first period, Samuelsson gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead just 33 seconds into the middle session with a fluke goal.
The veteran threw the puck toward the net from along the right-wing boards in the neutral zone, and it banked off the left post and in for his fourth tally of the season and second in as many games.
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