NHL-best Capitals beat the defending champion Panthers 6-3 for their 4th consecutive win

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tom Wilson scored his 31st goal of the season, Alex Ovechkin had a pair of assists and the Washington Capitals beat the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers 6-3 on Saturday to win their fourth game in a row and pad their lead atop the NHL.

Wilson set up Connor McMichael's opening goal in the first period before scoring his own 7 seconds after the ensuing intermission. Dylan Strome scoring 52 seconds later made it eight goals combined between the teams in the first 21 minutes of a high-event game largely lacking in defense.

Anthony Beauvillier, John Carlson and Andrew Mangiapane also scored for the Capitals, who were the first team in the league to clinch a playoff spot and have won nine of their last 10. Logan Thompson made 33 saves to improve to 31-4-5 in his first season with Washington.

Ovechkin had five shots on net but remained at 888 career goals, seven back of breaking Wayne Gretzky's record.

Sam Bennett, Seth Jones and Jonah Gadjovich scored for the short-handed Panthers, who are without injured winger Matthew Tkachuk and suspended defenseman Aaron Ekblad and are awaiting trade deadline acquisition Brad Marchand to debut. Vitek Vanecek allowed six goals on 31 shots.

Panthers: They missed an opportunity to separate themselves from Toronto in the Atlantic Division. Whoever finishes second has to face Tampa Bay in the first round.

Capitals: With a big lead atop the Eastern Conference, they showed they can win while fiddling around with some things before the playoffs.

Wilson and Strome scoring in the first minute of the second shifted the previously back-and-forth game in the Caps' favor.

Ovechkin has seven assists in six games.

The Panthers host Pittsburgh on Sunday, while the Capitals visit West-leading Winnipeg on Tuesday night in a matchup of the top two teams in the league.

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Florida Panthers left wing Jonah Gadjovich, right, celebrates after his goal with defenseman Nate Schmidt (88) during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) battles for the puck against Florida Panthers center Anton Lundell (15) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) shoots the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Florida Panthers, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Capitals left wing Andrew Mangiapane (88) celebrates after his goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Florida Panthers, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Capitals left wing Andrew Mangiapane (88) celebrates after his goal as Florida Panthers goaltender Vitek Vanecek, second from right, looks on during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Capitals right wing Tom Wilson (43) celebrates his goal with defenseman Martin Fehervary (42) during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Florida Panthers, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Capitals left wing Anthony Beauvillier (72) scores past Florida Panthers goaltender Vitek Vanecek, front left, and defenseman Tobias Bjornfot (2) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)