SUNRISE, Fla. -- Florida Panthers right winger Jaromir Jagr had been one goal behind Marcel Dionne for eight straight games.

On Thursday night, he finally reached his milestone, helping Florida defeat the Washington Capitals 4-1 at the BB&T Center.

Jagr, 43, got career goal No. 731, tying him with Dionne for fourth place in NHL history.

"I had to wait a long time," Jagr said of his eight-game drought. "Every record seems like it has a big karma around it -- it's tough to break. It's not the first time I was stuck on a number. It's always like that -- the great players have karma around those goals."

The Panthers seemed to have karma on their side, too, knocking off the team that leads the Metropolitan Division despite the fact that Florida was resting its star goalie and despite losing two defensemen to injuries during the game.

Center Brandon Pirri and defenseman Aaron Ekblad also scored for the Panthers. And rookie right winger Logan Shaw got an empty-netter with 1:08 left for his second goal in two games.

Florida's Al Montoya, who made 19 saves and improved to 4-1-1 this season, got the win over Washington's Philipp Grubauer in a battle of backup goalies. Grubauer (2-2-1) hadn't played in three weeks.

Montoya and the rest of the Florida defense nearly shut down Washington left winger Alex Ovechkin, who has led the NHL in goals five times, including the past three years straight.

But Ovechkin managed to score with 2:08 left in the game as the Capitals had pulled Grubauer for the extra attacker.

Florida defenseman Steven Kampfer left the game in the first period due to a lower-body injury and did not return. Teammate and fellow defenseman Brian Campbell took a heavy hit in the third period, but he returned.

"That's a warrior," Ekblad said of Campbell. "And he took a couple more hits after the fact. That's a hockey player right there."

Florida blocked 16 shots and frustrated Washington's power play (0-for-5).

"For the most part, it was power plays where they got their chances on," Montoya said of the Capitals. "They have great speed through the neutral zone, and we took that away. Our forwards were coming back, and our (defensemen) were closing the gaps.

"We went down to five (defensemen) right away (due to the injury to Kampfer). That's a tough night, especially against a team that flies (like Washington)."

Capitals coach Barry Trotz seemed to agree with Montoya's assessment.

"We're shooting a little bit of blanks," Trotz said. "We have to generate more five on five."

The game got off to an odd start ... or a non-start. The opening faceoff was delayed 17 minutes because fire-and-rescue personnel were late reporting for duty. But 51 seconds after the puck dropped, Jagr had his goal, which puts him 10 behind Brett Hull for third place.

To get his ninth goal of the season, Jagr stood in front of Grubauer and deflected the puck down and past him.

Getting the primary assist on that goal was defenseman Dmitry Kulikov. He tied Bill Lindsay for 13th place on the Florida franchise list for career assists (98).

Pirri's goal, with 10:44 left in the second period, was his sixth of the season, and it came on a power play after a high-sticking penalty on Ovechkin.

Florida took advantage as Pirri took a pass from defenseman Brian Campbell and beat Grubauer with a one-timer, high to the glove side.

Ekblad's goal, his sixth of the season, occurred with 12:41 left in the third period and was set up by center Jonathan Huberdeau's cross-ice pass. Ekblad was in alone on Grubauer and lifted the puck over his glove.

The win improved the Panthers to 13-11-4, giving them 30 points, which is good enough for sixth place in the Atlantic Division.

Despite the loss, Washington (19-5-2 for 40 points) still leads the Metropolitan Division, and the Capitals will play at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.

"This is a terrific group -- they have a lot of pride," Trotz said of his Capitals. "They are going to Tampa, which is very good at home. We will have to bring our 'A' game because what we brought tonight wasn't good enough."

NOTES: Both teams rested their standout starting goalies -- Florida's Roberto Luongo and Washington's Braden Holtby. ... Media reports indicate that the Panthers will have new uniforms and a new logo next season. There has been no official announcement, however, and no timetable as to any potential unveiling. ... Florida's uniforms have been virtually unchanged since the team entered the NHL in 1993. ... Panthers C Nick Bjugstad (upper body) missed his sixth straight game. "It's not short-term," Panthers coach Gerard Gallant said of Bjugstad's injury. ... Panthers D Alex Petrovic (ankle) is on injured reserve but is expected to resume skating later this week. ... Florida scratched LW Shawn Thornton. ... Capitals D Brooks Orpik (lower body) has been out since Nov. 10. ... Washington scratched RW Stanislav Galiev, D Aaron Ness and LW Andre Burakovsky.