Ovechkin And Samsonov Lead The Caps To Victory In Game 3

At Capital One Arena, the Washington Capitals defeated the Florida Panthers 6-1 in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals.

This victory propels the Caps to fourth place in the standings, ensuring at least two more home playoff games this spring.

The Capitals' triumph over the Panthers was aided by Ovechkin's deadly shot. He had previously had two assists in the first two games of this series.

"The NHL as a whole is attempting to figure out how to stop Ovechkin. He's the best shooter in the world, and he just hit us tonight," said Brandon Montour, a Panthers defenseman.

Montour also stated that his team should be wary of Ovechkin's abilities.

"We need to be sterner with him," he said. "We must definitely be aware of the other players in the rim since they have significant playing time. We must tighten our grip on him and deny him the opportunity to shoot."

The Caps vs the Panthers game highlight

The Panthers took a 2:45 lead in the game after Jonathan Huberdeau scored on an Alexander Ovechkin goal. T.J. Oshie's strong shot was assisted by Ovechkin's pass, allowing the Caps to keep the lead.

This occurred just 7 seconds after MacKenzie Weegar was penalized for a stick caught in his skates by Garnett Hathway.

Marcus Johansson picked up Anthony Mantha's rebound and gave the Panthers a game failure early in the second set. With 10 minutes left, Johansson also deposited him in an open cage, allowing the Caps to win 2-1.

The Caps were up 3-1 with less than 2 minutes left in the second half. This happened after Mantha let go of Weegar's chip and Johansson retrieved the rebound and dished it to Trevor van Riemsdyk. In a two-goal lead, Riemsdyk also sent a shot past Sergei Bobrovsky.

In the eighth minute of the third quarter, Huberdeau was irritated by the Panthers' point deficit so he hit Nic Dowd. With 9 minutes remaining, Ovechkin scored another spectacular goal to put the Caps up 3 goals.

Stellar performances from Ovechkin and Samsonov

Ovechkin's passes were responsible for both of the Caps' goals in the contest. Oshie deflected the first goal in, while the second was a clear shot that went wide.

The Panthers attempted to limit the Caps' lead by not allowing Ovechkin to shoot. The Panthers successfully implemented the strategy in Game 2. However, in Game 3, this tactic did not work and instead allowed Ovechkin to turn things around.

Meanwhile, Samsonov's performance also blew the crowds away as fans chanted “Sammy! Sammy!” in an erupted applause after he made numerous crucial stops in the Caps' victory over the Panthers.

Samsonov rebounded after conceding an early goal in Game 2 that cost the Caps a big game. In his early post-season debut, Samsonov was able to make 29 saves. He was able to display maximum performance to guard the team's goal after replacing Vitek Vanecek.

He was able to stop the Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov's shot as well as Sam Reinhart's. This accomplishment arrived just in time to help the Caps win.

"At all times, I'm prepared. You may start the playoffs as the starting goalkeeper, but you must be prepared for every game,” he stated.