Tom Wilson scores twice against Panthers, passes Alex Semin on Capitals’ franchise all-time goals list

The Washington Capitals lost a heartbreaker to the Florida Panthers 5-3 on Monday, despite one their stars almost single-handedly leading them to victory: Tom Wilson.

Wilson figured in all of the Capitals’ goals on the evening, scoring twice himself and assisting on Dylan Strome’s third-period tally that temporarily gave the team a 3-2 lead.

Wilson currently sits first on the Capitals in goals (19) and points (37) as Team Canada is set to make their picks for the 2026 Olympics in the coming days.

The Capitals’ alternate captain first got on the board 3:53 into the first period after Martin Fehervary blazed into the offensive zone with speed. The Slovakian defender put a shot that ricocheted hard off Sergei Bobrovsky’s pads, giving Wilson, who was driving the net, an easy rebound goal.

The goal put the Capitals up 1-0, but by the end of the period, though, they needed another shot in the arm after surrendering consecutive goals to the Panthers — an even-strength tally by Anton Lundell and a power-play marker by Sam Reinhart. While on a late-period power play due to a Seth Jones high-stick, Wilson scored from the bumper spot with, appropriately, 43 seconds remaining after a fantastic feed by Dylan Strome. Nuggets, anyone?

After a scoreless second period, Wilson helped the Capitals retake the lead, gathering a loose puck along the boards and finding Strome at the point. The Capitals pivot then beat a screened Bobrovsky with a perfectly-placed shot, giving Wilson his third three-point night of the season and the 14th of his career.

The Capitals couldn’t finish the game out, though, surrendering three unanswered goals to the Panthers from Brad Marchand, Aaron Ekblad, and Sam Bennett.

“I thought we played well,” Wilson said. “I mean, it’s two teams play a similar style. Hard hockey, it’s big boy hockey.

“The effort was there,” he added. “The guys were competing, and it was a fun hockey game, but a frustrating one.”

Individually, Wilson’s two goals now put the Caps’ winger one goal shy of his fifth career 20-goal season and two goals shy of reaching the 200-goal mark.

The two tallies jumped Wilson (198) past Alex Semin (197) for the sixth-most goals in Capitals history. Per Capitals PR, Wilson has moved from 14th place on the franchise’s all-time goals list to sixth, passing some pretty big names along the way.

Washington Capitals all-time goals leaders

With 19 goals in 38 games, Wilson is on pace for his first career 40-goal season.