Washington defenseman Dmitry Orlov played in just his sixth game of the season on Friday, one more than he played in an injury-marred 2012-13 season. He skated 13:41 on Nov. 30 against the Islanders in his 2013-14 season debut, and has seen a steady uptick in his workload since. On Friday against the Panthers, Orlov played 20:04. He eclipsed the 20-minute plateau for the first time in 23 games, since logging a single-game career high 24:31 in a March 8, 2012 tilt against the Tampa Bay Lightning. More importantly, Orlov looked strong at both ends of the ice on Friday. In a single shift late in the third period of what was a 2-2 game, Orlov made two excellent plays in his own end to diffuse potential Grade A scoring chances for the Panthers. He was also much more assertive with the puck, and had a great look at the net late in overtime.