The Washington Capitals were torched by the Florida Panthers, 6-3, at Capital One Arena on Thursday night. Goaltender Darcy Kuemper made 30 saves in the loss.
Washington’s Lines vs. Florida
Anthony Mantha — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Conor Sheary
Sonny Milano — Nicklas Backstrom — Marcus Johansson
Joe Snively — Dylan Strome — T.J. Oshie
Nicolas Aube-Kubel — Lars Eller — Garnet Hathaway
Erik Gustafsson — Trevor Van Riemsdyk
Dmitry Orlov — Nick Jensen
Dylan McIlrath — Martin Fehervary
Kuemper
Charlie Lindgren
Scratched: D Alexander Alexeyev, C Aliaksei Protas, D Matt Irwin
Injured: D John Carlson (upper-body, missed 21st straight game, out indefinitely); LW Alex Ovechkin (death of father, second, day-to-day); RW Connor Brown (ACL, 53rd, indefinite); LW Carl Hagelin (hip, 57th, indefinite); C Nic Dowd (lower-body, 11th, indefinite); RW Tom Wilson (lower-body, seventh, day-to-day)
McIlrath, who was recalled from the AHL’s Hershey Bears on Wednesday, replaced Irwin in the team’s lone lineup change from Washington’s 3-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday. Aube-Kubel appeared in his 200th career NHL game.
Florida’s Lines
Anton Lundell — Aleksander Barkov — Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe — Eetu Luostarinen — Matthew Tkachuk
Ryan Lomberg — Colin White — Nick Cousins
Gregorio Denisenko — Eric Staal — Givani Smith
Gustav Forsling — Aaron Ekblad
Marc Staal — Brandon Montour
Josh Mahura — Radko Gudas
Sergei Bobrovsky
Spencer Knight
Scratched: D Casey Fitzgerald, C Chris Tierney
Injured: RW Anthony Duclair (Achilles, 58th, indefinite); RW Patric Hornqvist (concussion, 33rd, indefinite); C Sam Bennett (undisclosed, first, day-to-day)
First Period
Scoring
9:10, 1-0 Florida: Forsling stepped in and ripped a wrister past the glove of Kuemper from the left dot after Luostarinen fed him from down low.
Gus on the move 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/TFyzAZ2j13
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) February 17, 2023
Shots: 10-6 Florida
Other Notable Stats: Florida, who had three giveaways while Washington recorded four, led 4-1 in takeaways and 7-5 in hits. Each team earned five blocked shots. Washington did not score on two power plays while Florida failed to convert on one.
Second Period
Scoring
1:32, 2-0: Staal bombed a one-timer that went past the blocker of Kuemper from the left point with Tkachuk in front after Montour faked a slapshot on the other side and fed him.
M Staalsy from up 🔝 pic.twitter.com/4yjIIogGxY
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) February 17, 2023
7:20, 3-0: After Bobrovsky stoned Eller twice, Lundell sent White past the defense at the other end and While backhanded a shot to the roof past the left pad of Kuemper on a breakaway.
Backhand BEAUTY 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/qRcMDvBE1a
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) February 17, 2023
15:51, 3-1: Strome tipped in Oshie’s wrister from the top through the five-hole of Bobrovsky from the slot after Gustafsson handed the puck to Oshie at the point. Seven of Strome’s 12 goals have come in the second period.
#ALLCAPS 1-3. GIVE ME DOME STROME pic.twitter.com/BlHhoRxAOP
— Capitals Replays (@capsreplays) February 17, 2023
17:03, 4-1: Barkov ripped a wrister through the five-hole of Kuemper from the right dot on a two-on-one rush after getting the puck along the half-wall in the defensive zone.
You need to look to score a goal??? Can’t relate pic.twitter.com/4nyYKHudyJ
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) February 17, 2023
Shots: 30-17 Florida (including 20-11 in the second)
Other Notable Stats: Washington won 57% of the draws and led 18-15 in hits. Florida led 16-5 in blocked shots, 6-1 in takeaways, and had five giveaways while Washington recorded six.
Third Period
Scoring
13:04, 4-2 (PPG): Backstrom prevented a clear by Gudas, stepped in, and ripped one that hit the stick of Staal and went through the five-hole of Bobrovsky from the top of the right dot. With the primary helper, Gustafsson earned his fifth in his last five.
Got another pic.twitter.com/8AnouhoL32
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) February 17, 2023
17:28, 4-3 (PPG): Kuznetsov backhanded a shot off of Forsling from the side of the net after Oshie’s shot from the left side was blocked. With two assists vs. Florida, Oshie registered his sixth multi-point game of the season.
Evgeny Kuznetsov buries the rebound at the side of the net, trimming down the Washington deficit!#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/1Wo7jyAMD4
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights (@HockeyDaily365) February 17, 2023
18:39, 5-3 (ENG): Lundell backhanded a shot in the crease after Mantha saved a goal with his stick and then again with his foot before the puck went to Lundell.
19:46, 6-3 (ENG): Reinhart stuffed one into an empty net in front after Lundell missed from the half-wall and the puck went behind the net.
Shots: 36-31 Florida (13-6 Washington in the third)
Other Notable Stats: Washington, who scored twice on five power plays, led 26-15 in hits and won 56% of the faceoffs. Florida, who was held scoreless on two opportunities on the man advantage, led 22-10 in blocked shots and 10-2 in takeaways. Each team earned nine giveaways.
Next game: 2023 NHL Stadium Series on Saturday at Carolina (8 PM ET, ABC, ESPN+)
By Harrison Brown