Sports

Trocheck Caps Emotional Night With Last-Minute Goal, Panthers Beat Capitals 3-2

February 22, 2018 / 11:50 PM EST / CBS Miami

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SUNRISE (CBSMiami/AP) — One of the most emotional nights in BB&T Center history ended with jubilation for Florida Panthers fans.

Vincent Trocheck scored the winning goal with 19.1 seconds left to lift the Panthers over the Washington Capitals 3-2 on Thursday night, hours after victims of last week's shooting at nearby Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School were honored with a somber video tribute.

With the score tied at 2, Trocheck redirected a shot by Jonathan Huberdeau past goaltender Braden Holtby during a power play.

Nick Bjugstad scored the tying goal for the Panthers late in the third period, and Maxim Mamin got his first NHL goal. Roberto Luongo made 33 saves in his third game since returning from a groin injury.

Andre Burakovsky had a goal and an assist, and Lars Eller also scored for the Capitals. Holtby stopped 30 shots but lost his fifth straight.

Bjugstad tied the game at 2 when he took a pass from Aleksander Barkov in front and poked in the puck with 3:42 left.

Burakovsky's power-play goal gave the Capitals a 2-1 lead at 9:56 of the second. Alex Ovechkin fed the puck to Burakovsky in the slot, where he lined it up and fired a shot past Luongo.

Mamin gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead at 4:50 of the first period when he poked in the rebound of a shot by Ian McCoshen. Mamin's goal was his first point in eight NHL games.

The Capitals tied it on Eller's goal. Burakovsky took a shot from the high slot that glanced off Eller's stick and in with 1:05 left in the first.

Before the game, the arena video screen showed the names and faces of each of the 17 students who were killed on Valentine's Day in nearby Parkland. The darkened ice was then illuminated with 17 circles of light, with a student's name inside each one.

Luongo, a Parkland resident, gave an emotional statement about the bravery of those who lost their lives trying to save others and how inspiring the students have been coping with the tragedy.

Players from both teams stood for the ceremony, some wiping tears from their eyes.

It was the first home game for the Panthers since the tragedy. They had been on a road trip in Canada for the past 11 days.

Florida players will wear Marjory Stoneman Douglas logos on their helmets and MSD uniform patches for the remainder of the season.

The tribute was hosted by Panthers announcer Randy Moller.

NOTES: Capitals defenseman Michal Kempny, acquired from Chicago late Monday night, made his Washington debut. ... The Panthers acquired forward Frank Vatrano from Boston for a third-round pick in this year's draft. ... RW Radim Vrbata was a healthy scratch for the eighth time in 11 games.

UP NEXT

Capitals: Host the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.

Panthers: Host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.