Capitals 5, Panthers 4: Captain Alex Ovechkin rebounded from a poor showing at the Olympics by scoring his NHL-leading 41st goal with 4:17 left in the third period to snap a tie as visiting Washington skated to its ninth win in 10 meetings with Florida.

Troy Brouwer tallied twice and Brooks Laich matched Ovechkin with a goal and two assists for the Capitals, who improved to 6-2-1 following a seven-game winless skid (0-5-2). Nicklas Backstrom scored early in the second period to snap a 15-game goalless drought and also added two assists while Braden Holtby turned aside 30 shots in the victory.

Brad Boyes scored twice and former Capital Tomas Fleischmann ended a 22-game drought for the Panthers, who have dropped three in a row and six of seven. Drew Shore added a power-play tally in the loss.

After Florida overcame a pair of two-goal deficits to knot the contest at 4-4, Laich took advantage of a turnover before sliding a goal-mouth feed to Ovechkin. The reigning Hart Trophy winner made no mistake by beating Tim Thomas (27 saves) from the lower edge of the left faceoff circle.

Boyes forged a 2-2 tie just 40 seconds into the middle period by backhanding a rebound past Holtby. He added his team-leading 17th goal midway through the third to knot it at 4-4.

GAME NOTEBOOK: After sitting out Team Sweden's gold-medal game at the Olympics following a failed doping test (allergy medication), Backstrom did his best to put it behind him by scoring a goal for the first time since Jan. 10. RW Martin Erat wristed a sharp-angle shot from deep in the left corner and Backstrom cleaned up the loose puck at 3:44 of the second period for his 12th goal to give the Capitals a 3-2 lead. ...Washington D Mike Green and C Mikhail Grabovski returned to the lineup after the former sat out five games due to a concussion while the latter missed eight contests with an ankle injury. Grabovski logged just four shifts in the first period and did not return for the second. ... Washington C Marcus Johansson sat out after spending nearly 20 hours traveling to resolve a visa issue.