The Washington Capitals (8-8-1) were coming off a much needed win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night. Unfortunately, Thursday nights game against the Florida Panthers (9-7-1) didnt feature the same result.
The Capitals finish a four-game road trip with a whimper, despite a strong start. They fell to Florida 6-3 at Amerant Bank Arena to finish 1-3 in the road trip.
The Capitals did have a strong first period as they jumped out to a 1-0 lead thanks to Brandon Duhaime.
However, Florida responded with three unanswered goals, including one on the power play by Sam Reinhart, to take a 3-1 lead. Reinhart later scored his second tally in the third period.
The next two Capitals goals came from Justin Sourdif and Rasmus Sandin in the third, but it wasnt enough.
The Capitals will now return home as they get set to host the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night.
The Capitals looked to be back on track after a strong showing against Carolina. The first period was a sign of that, as Brandon Duhaime deflected Rasmus Sandins long shot into the net to make it 1-0.
This was a special goal for Duhaime as he is now on a career-best three-game goal streak.
Unfortunately, the Capitals still had to deal with the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. Even without injured stars Matthew Tkachuk and Sasha Barkov, the home team still came to play.
30 seconds after Duhaime scored, Florida responded with a goal from Evan Rodrigues to tie it at 1-1. Then, Cole Schwindt and Sam Reinhart (on the power play) added tallies to make it 3-1 at the end of the middle frame.
Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery had to make some forward line changes in response. He ended up swapping Justin Sourdif and Connor McMichael on the second and third lines.
The change seemed to work as Sourdif scored his second goal of the year while skating with Aliaksei Protas and Tom Wilson. That tally cut the deficit to 3-2, showing a sign of hope for the Capitals to come back.
However, Reinhart scored his second of the night to extend Floridas lead to 4-2.
Things got worse when Nic Dowd was sent to the box with a double minor, forcing the Capitals to go on a four-minute penalty kill. It resulted in Seth Jones scoring with under a minute left in the power play for his 100th career goal.
Sandin did attempt to give the Capitals life with a goal to cut it to 5-3, but Florida sealed it with an empty-netter.
It also didnt help that the Capitals had to deal with Floridas backup goaltender Daniil Tarasov, who ended up stopping 37 of 40 shots that went his way.
Team: C
The team started off strong and responded to a two-goal deficit with some lineup changes that worked at first. But they just couldnt figure out Floridas backup netminder.
Brandon Duhaime-Nic Dowd-Ethen Frank: B
The Capitals fourth line continues to play very well together. Duhaime extended his goal streak to a career-best three games.
Rasmus Sandin: A
Sandin was quite impressive with two points on the night. He attempted a shot from the point that was deflected in by Duhaime, and then followed that up with a tally of his own.
Justin Sourdif: B
Sourdif didnt get off to the best start, but once he swapped lines with McMichael, he stepped up. The 23-year-old scored his second goal of the season while skating alongside Protas and Wilson.
Ryan Leonard: B+
Leonard may not have scored at all, but he did finish with a career-high seven shots on goal. He finished with nine shot attempts overall, four individual scoring chances, one individual high-danger chance, one shot block, and multiple impressive zone entries and plays along the wall.
Capitals Special Teams: D
Once again, the Capitals special teams could use some work. They went 0-for-2 on the power play, though Ryan Leonard did try on those opportunities. The penalty kill wasnt any better as they gave up two Florida goals, with one of them being the result of a four-minute power play.
Logan Thompson: C
Not the most ideal performance from Thompson. He gave up five goals, including two with the Capitals on the penalty kill. Hell bounce back though.
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