St. Ivany Scores First NHL Goal as Capitals Edge Panthers 4-3 Despite Wilson Ejection

Jack St. Ivany had waited 61 NHL games for a goal. He got his first one on Saturday afternoon in the strangest way imaginable — and it set the tone for a Washington Capitals win that had a little bit of everything. Just 2:21 into the game against the Florida Panthers, Florida goaltender Akira Schmid tried to clear the puck up the right boards. St. Ivany picked it off, threw it toward the net, and watched it take a wild bounce off the ice, hop over Schmid's left shoulder and drop into the top corner. The 27-year-old defenceman, playing only his fifth game as a Capital after being claimed off waivers from Winnipeg on October 24, had his milestone. "It was early in the game, so I'm trying to get something towards the net, keep the play alive," St. Ivany said afterwards. "I don't think I've ever had one bounce in front of me and go top corner before, but I'll take it." He was still smiling when he added the part that mattered most to him. "(I'm) really happy, a little bit of relief. It's been a lot of games for me in the NHL before I scored a goal. So it's not really something I think about, but I was just ecstatic." The joy lasted about a minute. Florida went straight down the other end and tied it, Matthew Tkachuk setting up his brother Brady on the Panthers' first shot of the game at 3:13. Brady Tkachuk struck again at 10:00, this time on a five-minute power play after Washington's Tom Wilson was handed a major penalty for boarding and a game misconduct, and suddenly the Capitals were down 2-1 and down a man who does so much of their heavy lifting. Washington did not fold. Alex Tuch levelled it at 2-2 early in the second period, pouncing on a neutral-zone turnover, and Aliaksei Protas put the Capitals back in front at 14:55, finishing a no-look feed from Pierre-Luc Dubois after catching Schmid out of position. Dubois made it 4-2 himself at 4:42 of the third, taking a cross-ice pass from Protas and deking around the goaltender. Both finished with a goal and an assist. Florida, as champions tend to do, made the finish uncomfortable. Sam Bennett redirected a Matthew Tkachuk shot past Logan Thompson with 45 seconds left to make it 4-3, and the last minute was a scramble. Thompson, who stopped 27 shots, held firm. Schmid made 27 saves at the other end, and Washington edged the shot count 31-30. The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Capitals and closed out a three-game homestand on a winning note. For Florida, it was the first game of a three-game road trip, and a second defeat in three games, despite five points from the Tkachuk brothers — two goals for Brady, three assists for Matthew. "We were really good early," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. "Got into some trouble in the second period and I think we were all fighting it at that point." St. Ivany finished with 13:50 of ice time, two shots, three blocked shots and a hit, and head coach Spencer Carbery presented him with the milestone puck after the game. "He's just been rock solid for us," Carbery said. The goal itself was pure luck, a bounce off the ice that nobody could have planned. But St. Ivany has spent five professional seasons since leaving Boston College in 2022 doing the unglamorous work that keeps a defenceman in the league, and on Saturday the hockey gods finally paid him back.