Lomberg breaks tie late in 3rd, Panthers hand Capitals 6th straight loss

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Ryan Lomberg scored his first goal in 35 games, helping the Florida Panthers hand the Washington Capitals their sixth straight loss, 4-2 at Amerant Bank Arena on Thursday.

Matthew Tkachuk had a goal and two assists for the Panthers (32-15-4), who have won five of their past six games. Sergei Bobrovsky made 21 saves in winning his third consecutive start.

“It was good for our line. The big boys have been doing most of the scoring all season long,’’ Lomberg said. “To score for our team, it’s a great thing. … The most important thing is the two points, but it is great to contribute.”

Alex Ovechkin and Anthony Mantha scored for the Capitals (22-20-7), who are 0-5-1 during their skid. Darcy Kuemper made 37 saves.

“We have to find a way to dig in and find a way to sustain it,’’ said Washington coach Spencer Carbery, whose team led 1-0 and 2-1. “We have to find a way to have more consistency over 60 minutes.”

Lomberg scored with 5:32 remaining in the third period to give the Panthers the lead for the first time at 3-2.

Defenseman Dmitry Kulikov controlled the puck along the back wall, then sent a pass to Lomberg in the slot. The forward one-timed the pass for his first goal since Nov. 14 at the San Jose Sharks.

“Beautiful pass,’’ Lomberg said. “Right on the tape.’’

Eetu Luostarinen scored an empty-net goal at 19:06 for the 4-2 final.

“This league is tough so, when you lose, it’s like, ‘We can’t let this go’,” said Florida coach Paul Maurice, whose team had lost five of its previous six home games.

“It is more about style of play for us because we have earned that right. We have a bit of a cushion [in the standings] but we cannot rely on that. We just need to play our game and it is a hard game to play.”

Ovechkin gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead in a familiar way, on a slap shot from the left circle on the power play at 16:38 of the first period. Ovechkin scored for the third straight game and has 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in his past 13 games.

Florida tied it 1-1 at 4:29 of the second period when a point shot from defenseman Gustav Forsling clipped the right skate of Tkachuk and slid past Kuemper.

“The way we played in the second and the third has got to be a staple for us,” Tkachuk said. “We have done that for big chunks of the season, but we have gotten away from it a little bit here at home. It felt good to get back to it.”

Mantha gave Washington the lead back at 2-1 at 14:03, driving in and beating Bobrovsky with a high tip-in of a sharp pass from Michael Sgarbossa.

“I thought we battled pretty hard,” Mantha said. “We need to come together, obviously, and that’s the only way we’re going to come out this. There is enough talent, the right attitude and compete level in this room to look at what’s ahead and know we can do it.’’

Sam Reinhart scored his NHL-leading 21st power-play goal by deflecting a point shot from Tkachuk at 17:32 to tie it 2-2.

Reinhart’s 13-game point streak ended Tuesday, but he has 20 goals (including 13 on the power play) in his past 19 games.

“I just saw him by himself, and when he’s by himself, you try to find that stick,” Tkachuk said.

NOTES: Bobrovsky stopped Washington forward Beck Malenstyn on a penalty shot, making a blocker save at 8:31 of the first period after Malenstyn was hooked by Oliver Ekman-Larsson. … Sgarbossa got his first point of the season after making his debut Tuesday against the Montreal Canadiens. … Ovechkin has 89 points (44 goals, 45 assists) in 71 games against Florida. He ranks first in career goals, assists and points against the Panthers. … Tkachuk had his eighth multipoint game since Dec. 29. During that 17-game span, he has 30 points (12 goals, 18 assists).