Reinhart scores twice as Panthers beat Capitals 5-3, giving Florida 9th win in 12 games

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Sam Reinhart scored two goals, helping the Florida Panthers beat the Washington Capitals 5-3 on Monday night and giving the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions nine wins in their past 12 games.

The Capitals (20-14-5) have lost four of five.

Florida came back from a third-period deficit to pull out the win, getting goals from Brad Marchand, Aaron Ekblad and Reinhart.

The Capitals led 3-2 early in the third on a goal by Dylan Strome, who also had two assists. But Marchand tied the score by batting in his own rebound past goalie Logan Thompson at 6:16 of the third, and Ekblad put Florida ahead for good about seven minutes later.

Reinhart added an empty-netter to seal matters for Florida.

Tom Wilson got both Washington goals in the opening period, giving the Capitals a 1-0 lead at 3:53 and then tying the score at 2-2 with 43 seconds remaining on a power-play chance.

With the two goals, Wilson has four multigoal games this season — and his second multigoal period, the first of which came Nov. 19 against the Edmonton Oilers.

Between Wilson's goals, the Panthers tied the score on Anton Lundell’s goal at 4:35 of the first, with Reinhart scoring his 20th of the season for a 2-1 lead at 12:45.

Wilson had a three-point night, getting the primary assist on Strome’s third-period goal. Strome assisted on Wilson’s two goals in the first.

After a scoreless second, the scoring picked up again in the third.

The game was Florida's first since forward Matthew Tkachuk practiced for the first time this season, following offseason surgery to repair a torn adductor muscle and sports hernia. Tkachuk practiced Sunday, but there is no timetable for his return to game action.

Capitals: Host the New York Rangers on Wednesday.

Panthers: Host Montreal on Tuesday.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Washington Capitals center Nic Dowd (26) watches Florida Panthers left wing Brad Marchand (63) who wastripped by right wing Ryan Leonard during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Rhona Wise)

Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson blocks a shot against the Florida Panthers during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Rhona Wise)

Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett (9)and Washington Capitals defenseman Martin Fehérváry (42) fight for the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Rhona Wise)

Washington Capitals defenseman Matt Roy (3) and Florida Panthers right wing Mackie Samoskevich (11) chase the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Rhona Wise)

Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) makes a save against the Washington Capitals during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Rhona Wise)

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Boston College forward James Hagens scored in a 1:03 span late in the second period and early in the third and the United States overcame a two-goal deficit to beat Slovakia 6-5 on Monday night in the world junior hockey championship.

Hagens tied it at 4 with 45 seconds left in the second, then gave the Americans the lead 18 seconds into the third.

“I’ll take them whenever they come,” said Hagens, from Hauppauge, New York. “It was cool that they came back-to-back like that.”

The United States matched Sweden at 3-0 in Group A play ahead of their New Year’s Eve showdown. In the early game, Sweden had four power-play goals in an 8-1 romp over Germany.

“We have to be careful with some things like taking too long shifts or getting stuck on the blue lines," Swedish captain Jack Berglund said. "Stuff like that can punish us against the U.S. If we have a bad change, bad turnover, they will come with speed. We need to be ready for that.”

Caleb Heil backstopped the U.S. in goal, making 26 saves. He's from Victoria, Minnesota, and plays for Madison in the USHL. Fellow Minnesotans Brendan McMorrow and Will Zellers scored. McMorrow is from Lakeville and plays at Denver. Zellers, from Maple Grove, plays for North Dakota.

Lee Ryker of Michigan State and AJ Spellacy of Windsor of the OHL added goals. The U.S. played without defenseman Cole Hutson. The Boston University star was injured when he struck in the back of the head by a shot in a victory over Switzerland on Saturday.

“He’s like lightning in a bottle,“ McMorrow said. “He can make something out of nothing, and in a game like that, too, we could have used him. But you know, we’re battling through it and hopefully we’ll get him back soon.”

Tomas Chrenko scored twice for Slovakia.

In the opener, Swedish captain Jack Berglund, Anton Frondell and Viggo Bjorck each scored twice.

“We had, from the start, good energy,” Berglund said. “We came at them hard.”

In Group B at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Adam Jiricek scored at 3:39 of overtime to give Czechia a 2-1 victory over pool leader Finland. Czechia and Canada — which faced Denmark in the late game — are tied for second with five points, two behind the Finns.

Czechia won after Emil Hemming tied it for Finland with 19.3 seconds left in regulation.

Finland’s Veeti Vaisanen received a major penalty and game misconduct for cross-checking at 1:06 of the first period. Matej Kubiesa scored 46 seconds later on the power play, snapping a shot past Petteri Rimpinen. The Finns spent seven of the first 10 minutes short-handed.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Czechia's Tomas Poletin (18) collides with Finland goaltender Petteri Rimpinen (30) during first period match at the world junior hockey championship in Minneapolis, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

Czechia players celebrate after Adam Jirícek (not shown) scored the winning goal against Finland during overtime IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship game action in Minneapolis, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

United States forward Brendan McMorrow, left, celebrates after scoring during the second period of an IIHF World Junior Hockey championship game against Slovakia, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

United States forward Brendan McMorrow (22) celebrates after scoring during the second period of an IIHF World Junior Hockey championship game against Slovakia, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

United States forward James Hagens (10) celebrates after scoring during the second period of an IIHF World Junior Hockey championship game against Slovakia, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)