Brouwer's OT goal lifts Capitals over Panthers

Washington trailed 5-3 before Eric Fehr scored on a redirect at 14:53 of the third period. Alex Ovechkin netted a power-play goal with 2:49 left to tie it.

"We've had a few games we've given away two points, now it's our turn to battle back and get those two very important points," Brouwer said.

Mike Ribeiro, Karl Alzner and Matt Hendricks also scored for the Capitals. Braden Holtby, who shut out Florida 5-0 on Saturday, stopped 27 shots.

"This win will do us wonders in the long run, knowing that we can come back," Holtby said, "but at the same time, (if) we play like that against one of top teams, it's real ugly."

Florida rookie Jonathan Huberdeau had his first multigoal game, and Drew Shore scored his first NHL goal. Tomas Fleischmann and Shawn Matthias also scored for the Panthers, and Scott Clemmensen made 23 saves.

Washington, which had been 0-4-1 on the road, improved to 22-8-1 in its last 31 games against Southeast Division rival Florida.

"I think our composure is something we have to continue to work on," Panthers coach Kevin Dineen said. "Feeling the pressure, it's how you respond to it and we didn't respond to it well. Obviously, sometimes you survive those, and tonight that's certainly a tough loss."

Brouwer took a pass on the right wing from Nicklas Backstrom and skated in alone on Clemmensen. His first shot was stopped, but Brouwer put in the rebound.