Game Re-Caps

Capitals Fall To Panthers, 4-2; Dylan Strome and Tom Wilson Score

By Della Young·
Photo: John McCreary/NHLI via Getty Images

The Washington Capitals fell to the Florida Panthers by a score of 4-2 Saturday night at Capital One Arena. The loss dropped the Capitals’ record to 34-36-9 and 77 points on the season. Goaltender Charlie Lindgren made 33 saves in the loss.

Lines & Pairs

Conor Sheary — Dylan Strome — Tom Wilson
Nicklas Backstrom — Aliaksei Protas
Sonny Milano — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Craig Smith
Beck Malenstyn — Nic Dowd — Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Martin Fehervary — John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin — Nick Jensen
Alexander Alexeyev — Matt Irwin

Charlie Lindgren
Darcy Kuemper

Injuries: Left-wing Carl Hagelin (hip), right-wing Connor Brown (ACL), right-wing T.J. Oshie (upper-body), defenseman Trevor Van Riemsdyk (upper-body), left wing Anthony Mantha (lower-body), and captain Alex Ovechkin (upper-body)

Transactions: The Capitals recalled forward Beck Malenstyn from the AHL’s Hershey Bears on Friday.

First Period

The first twenty minutes went by scoreless.

Quick Stats

SOG: 10-7 Panthers

Face-Off Win %: 67% (Panthers), 33% (Capitals)

Hits: 10-3 Capitals

Second Period

Strome (21) would open the scoring at the 8:51 mark, giving the Capitals a 1-0 lead. Wilson (8) and Protas (11) assisted.

The Panthers would tie it up at 1-1 with a goal from center Carter Verhaeghe at the 10:56 mark.

Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad would give the visiting team a 2-1 lead at the 13:47 mark on a power play.

Wilson (10) would tie the game at 2-2 for the Capitals with just under four minutes left in the middle frame. The assists went to Sheary (21) and Kuznetsov (43).

Quick Stats

Total SOG: 21-19 Capitals

Face-Off Win %: 55% (Panthers), 45% (Capitals)

Total Hits: 14-7 Capitals

Third Period

With a minute left, the Panthers would get goals from left-wing Matthew Tkachuk and center Sam Reinhart for a 4-2 final.

Quick Stats

Total SOG: 37-24 Panthers

Face-Off Win %: 53% (Panthers), 47% (Capitals)

Total Hits: 21–10 Capitals

Notes Through the Game

  • Strome’s three-game goal streak is tied for the longest of his career (3/5/22-3/8/22: 6g).
  • Strome has scored the game-opening goal in consecutive contests and has scored the Capitals’ first goal of the game in three-straight games.
  • Wilson (124g-166a–290p) is now 10 points shy of 300 career points.
  • Protas has recorded two points (1g, 1a) in his last three games.
  • Wilson registered his sixth multi-point game of the season.
  • Kuznetsov is now four points shy of passing Bengt Gustafsson (554) for the eighth-most points in franchise history.

The Capitals host the New York Islanders at Capital One Arena on Monday, the team’s third-to-last game of the 2022-23 season. NBC Sports Washington will have the coverage beginning at 7 PM ET.

By Della Young