Panthers rebound from an 8-goal loss to Carolina, beat Capitals 5-2 in Washington

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sam Bennett had a goal and two assists, and the Florida Panthers rebounded from a lopsided loss at Carolina with a 5-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Saturday night.

A.J. Greer, Uvis Balinskis, Anton Lundell and Carter Verhaeghe also scored for two-time defending champion Florida, which lost 9-1 to the Hurricanes before traveling to Washington for the second game of a back-to-back. Jacob Chychrun scored twice to give the Capitals a 2-1 lead in the second, but Florida went back ahead before the period was over.

Washington is 6-10-3 in its last 19 games, and now the Capitals head west for a six-game trip.

Sergei Bobrovsky, who allowed all nine goals against Carolina, had the night off in favor of Daniil Tarasov in net. The Capitals had a goal overturned on an offside review in the first period, and then Florida quickly opened the scoring when Bennett tried to stuff the puck past goalie Logan Thompson and Greer put in the rebound.

Chychrun scored twice in the second, once from the left circle and once from just inside the blue line. Bennett tied it at 2, and after a penalty to Alex Ovechkin for putting the puck over the glass, Balinskis' shot from just beyond the right circle found its way through.

Lundell and Verhaeghe had empty-netters in the third.

The Capitals were still without the injured Tom Wilson and Pierre-Luc Dubois. Florida was without Brad Marchand, and Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk have yet to play this season.

Panthers: Host San Jose on Monday night.

Capitals: At Colorado on Monday night.

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Washington Capitals left wing Anthony Beauvillier (72) shoots against Florida Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola (77) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Florida Panthers left wing A.J. Greer (10) falls over Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Florida Panthers goaltender Daniil Tarasov blocks the shot of Washington Capitals center Dylan Strome (17) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett (9) shoots the puck past Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson for a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Florida Panthers defenseman Uvis Balinskis (26) is congratulated by teammates after scoring a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Andrei Svechnikov had a hat trick and Frederik Andersen made 28 saves as the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New Jersey Devils 4-1 on Saturday night.

Jackson Blake also scored for the Hurricanes, who improved to 6-1-1 in their last eight games. Sebastian Aho had three assists as Carolina won a night after routing the defending champion Florida Panthers 9-1 at home.

Timo Meier scored for New Jersey, which had its two-game winning streak snapped. The Devils are 4-8-1 since Dec. 19 when they won 2-1 at Utah.

Svechnikov broke a scoreless tie at 13:12 of the second, whipping a shot past Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom, who had 29 saves. The 25-year-old Russian forward scored again 57 seconds later to make it 2-0 after two.

Aho leads the Hurricanes with 50 points, including 17 goals. Svechnikov is second on the team with 40 points. The 36-year-old Andersen improved 7-10-3 this season.

Meier ruined Andersen’s shutout bid with his 13th goal on the power play at 4:27 of the third with assists to Cody Glass and Dougie Hamilton.

Blake restored the two-goal margin with his 15th goal at 8:33 of the third before Svechnikov completed his hat trick with his 16th goal this season at 15:52.

The first-place Hurricanes lead the Islanders by seven points in the Metropolitan Division.

Carolina has won all three meetings with New Jersey this season, including a 3-1 victory at Prudential Center on Jan. 4. The teams meet again March 28 in North Carolina.

Devils: Visit the Calgary Flames on Monday night to start four-game road trip.

Hurricanes: Host the Buffalo Sabres on Monday.

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

New Jersey Devils left wing Paul Cotter (47) checks Carolina Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho (20) in front of the Devils bench during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Carolina Hurricanes right wing Andrei Svechnikov (37) battles for the puckw ith New Jersey Devils center Nico Hischier (13) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New Jersey Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom (25) reaches for a puck against Carolina Hurricanes right wing Jackson Blake (53) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New Jersey Devils defenseman Luke Hughes (43) skates with the puck past Carolina Hurricanes center Jordan Staal (11) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)