WASHINGTON – Alex Ovechkin scored his 878th NHL goal in the Washington Capitals 6-3 win against the Florida Panthers at Capital One Arena on Tuesday.

Alex Ovechkin scored his 878th career goal into an empty net with 0.1 seconds left on the clock to move closer to Wayne Gretzky's NHL career record, and the Washington Capitals defeated the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers 6-3 on Tuesday night.

Alas, it was not meant to be, as the Panthers fell behind several times en route to a frustrating 5-3 loss to the Washington Capitals. Washington opened the scoring in the latter stages of the opening period when Andrew Mangiapane came out of the corner and had nothing but space between he and Sergei Bobrovsky.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Florida Panthers saw their three-game winning streak come to an end with a 6-3 loss to the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Tuesday. With the loss, the Panthers now sit at 32-20-3.

Tuesday night at Capital One Arena in Washington saw a battle between the two top teams in the Eastern Conference, the Washington Capitals (35-11-7) and the Florida Panthers (32-20-3).

The Florida Panthers and Washington Capitals aren’t just any matchup on Tuesday night. The game features the first-place team in the Atlantic and Metropolitan Divisions, which could be a potential Eastern Conference Finals matchup.