RECAP: Capitals 6, Panthers 3

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.

In a battle between the two division leaders in the Eastern Conference, the Panthers did far more than just hold their own, finishing with lopsided 28-12 edge in scoring chances at 5-on-5.

Overall, it was a game they felt certainly could’ve gone their way.

“It was a really tight game all the way until the third [period],” forward Sam Bennett said. “It was two good teams going at it. It was kind of like a playoff feel. It’s a good team. They were just a little better in the third than us.”

Before the ice was broken, the Panthers got the job done on the penalty kill.

Taking two penalties in the first period, the Panthers held down the fort during both trips to the power play for the Capitals, allowing just two shot attempts and one scoring chance.

In defeat, Florida finished a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.

“It was a bright spot in our game,” head coach Paul Maurice said.

Eventually opening the scoring for the Capitals, Andrew Mangiapane found the tiniest hole between Sergei Bobrovsky’s right shoulder and the post and scored to make it 1-0 at 14:08.

Getting the game back to even before the first intermission, Bennett forced a turnover in the offensive zone, took a pass from Jesper Boqvist and – despite being stopped by Logan Thompson on his first attempt – backhanded in his own rebound to make it 1-1 at 19:30.

On the penalty kill in the second period, the Capitals forced a turnover in Florida’s zone before Tom Wilson finished off a 2-on-1 rush for a shorthanded goal to make it 2-1 at 1:15.

Showing off both his elite size and skill, Aleksander Barkov got the game knotted up again when he took a perfect pass from Carter Verhaeghe, shook a defender off his back and beat Thompson with a silky-smooth backhand shot on a breakaway to bring the score to 2-2 at 4:14.

“He’s a powerful man, a strong man,” Maurice said of Florida’s superstar captain. “He never goes down, never quits on a play. He’s such an honest player. He’s hard to handle 1-on-1.”

Soon after, Nate Schmidt shut down a breakaway for Washington with a diving poke check.

After coming up short on a power play to start the third period, the Capitals still managed to take the lead when Lars Eller flew through the defense and lifted a shot over Bobrovsky’s outstretched right pad to make it 3-2 at 2:19.

On a delayed penalty, the Capitals added to their lead when Nic Down crashed the net and deposited a centering feed from Mangiapane to make it 4-2 at 6:10. On the play, Dowd went flying into right Bobrovsky for the second time in the game, which set off a feisty altercation.

After the dust had settled, each team had a player sent to the box and the action went to 4-on-4.

Taking advantage of the extra open ice, Matthew Tkachuk got one goal back for the Panthers when he teed up a pass from Schmidt and beat Thompson with a wicked shot from the right circle to make it 4-3 at 7:46.

With the Panthers buzzing after pulling their goaltender for a 6-on-5 advantage late in regulation, the Capitals caught a break – literally – when Carter Verhaeghe’s stick snapped on a slap shot and gave way to an empty-net goal for Aliaksei Protas to make it 5-3 with 1:39 left in regulation.

With less than a second left, Alex Ovechkin added another empty-netter to make it 6-3.

Despite being outscored 4-1, the Panthers led 15-5 in scoring chances in the third period.

“We had a couple good looks, and then they capitalized on their looks,” Bennett said. “I think we were pushing a little too hard for a goal and gave up a couple too many odd-mans and a couple too many good scoring chances.”

THEY SAID IT

“Any time you’re playing another top team in the league, you’re prepping for playoffs. You’re kind of feeling each other out. It could be a matchup in the playoffs.” – Sam Bennett

“The margin for error between the two teams was pretty tight.” – Paul Maurice

“I feel like they capitalized on their chances. We maybe gave them too much time and space to create those chances. We’ve got to do a better job.” – Jesper Boqvist

CATS STATS

- The Panthers led 11-3 in high-danger shot attempts at 5-on-5.

- The Panthers led 14-5 in shot attempts at 5-on-5 when Anton Lundell was deployed.

- Matthew Tkachuk is one goal shy of his third straight 20-goal season with Florida.

- Aleksander Barkov won a team-high nine faceoffs.

- Every single Panthers skater recorded at least one hit.

- Sam Reinhart blocked a team-high three shots on goal.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The Panthers will close the book on their quick two-game trip with a matchup against the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET.

To find a place to watch the game in South Florida, click HERE.