WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- Alexander Semin, Chris Clark, Jamie Heward, Kris Beech and Matt Bradley scored in the first period Wednesday as Washington beat the Florida Panthers, 5-2.
The outburst staked the Capitals to a 5-0 lead after the first stanza, and Washington failed to score the rest of the way, but held on to end a two-game skid. Both losses came in overtime against Minnesota and Atlanta.
Richard Zednik had two assists and goalie Olaf Kolzig made 33 saves on 35 shots for the Capitals (2-1-2).
Jozef Stumpel and Nathan Horton each scored power play goals, Mike Van Ryn had two assists, goalie Alex Auld gave up four goals on 12 shots and his replacement, Ed Belfour, allowed a goal on 14 shots for the Panthers (3-3-1).
Florida lost its second straight game.
On the power play, Florida was 2-for-4 and the Capitals were 0-for-5.
