Panthers Down Capitals 4-1

Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images

The Washington Capitals fell to the Florida Panthers 4-1 on Saturday night at Capital One Arena. The loss dropped the Capitals record to 4-4-1 for the season. The Capitals are now off until Thursday night when they begin their Western Canada road trip in Vancouver. Puck drop is a caffeinated 10:00 PM.

Philipp Grubauer got the start in goal for the Capitals. James Reimer got the nod for the Panthers. This was T.J. Oshie’s 600th career NHL game. The Capitals lines for tonight’s tilt versus the Panthers:

#Caps lines tonight vs Panthers: 43-19-77, 8-92-13, 10-20-65, 25-83-39. Defense: 29-74, 9-4, 44-22. Grubauer vs. Reimer. #CapsCats

— Mike Vogel (@VogsCaps) October 21, 2017

Tyler Graovac, Aaron Ness, and Nathan Walker were the scratches. Matt Niskanen missed his 4th game since injuring his left thumb against the Devils on October 13th.

Tonight’s attendance was 18,506, the Capitals 367th consecutive sellout at Capital One Arena.

FIRST PERIOD
The Panthers would strike quickly with a goal by Connor Brickley just 86 seconds into the contest. The goal was setup on a turnover by the Caps Christian Djoos behind his own net.

The Panthers would add a power play goal by Evgenii Dadonov at the 19:30 mark of the opening frame. The man-advantage was setup by a penalty on Madison Bowey, who was burned on Panthers zone entry and forced to hold.

The period would end with the Panthers leading 2-0. The Capitals outshot the Panthers 16-7 for the first 20 minutes. The Caps led in face-offs 52-48% but also led in giveaways 9-2 for the first period. The Panthers were 1 for 2 and the Capitals 0 for 1 on the power play.

SECOND PERIOD
The Panthers would add a 5-on-3 power play goal by Vincent Trocheck at the 8:58 mark, stretching their lead to 3-0. The two-man advantage was facilitated by penalties on Eller and Backstrom.

Christian Djoos would finally get the Caps on the scoreboard with a dazzling dangle at the 15:23 mark of the middle frame.

The period would end with the Capitals trailing 3-1. The Caps outshot the Panthers 13-12 for the second period, and led 29-19 through two periods of play. The Caps were 0 for 2 and the Panthers 2 for 6 in power plays after two periods of play.

THIRD PERIOD
The Capitals stepped up the offensive zone pressure in the final frame, outshooting the Panthers for the period, but just could not find the back of the net. The Panthers would add an empty net goal late to make it 4-1.

Shavings:

Caps have lost three of their first four home games at start of season in regulation for first time since 1996-97. (Mike Vogel)
Caps have lost three straight in regulation at home for first time in nearly four years. (Mike Vogel)
The Capitals 42 shots on goal set a new season high. In addition, Washington outshot Florida 56-28 at five-on-five shot attempts.
The Capitals have recorded at least 40 shots on goal in two straight games.
Christian Djoos scored his second goal of the season, which is tied for the NHL lead among rookie defensemen.

By Jon Sorensen
Follow @NoVa_Caps

SCENES FROM CAPITAL ONE ARENA