Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals will try to regain their winning form when they host Sam Reinhart and the Florida Panthers in a Saturday matinee.
The first matchup in a three-game season series between the Eastern Conference opponents comes after Florida won all three games versus Washington last season, including a 5-2 road victory in January.
More recently, the Panthers have won four of their last five games and have scored five goals in three of those victories. That includes a 5-3 win against the visiting Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday.
Florida jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on goals from Sandis Vilmanis and Carter Verhaeghe. Chicago rallied out of a 3-0 hole but was never able to tie the game. Vilmanis finished with two goals and two assists as his line with Reinhart and Verhaeghe combined for nine points (four goals, five assists).
“They were our first line tonight,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. “That’s how good they were. They were good at both ends, so they didn’t cheat to get that. They were responsible, and I really liked the way all three played.”
Jacob Markstrom made 17 saves in the victory.
“I think we were on our toes from the start,” Reinhart said. “When our (defense) is aggressive, it’s because our forwards are allowing them to be in there. … It’s a tough team to play against. So that’s where our offense seems to come from, and that’s the way we have to play.”
The Capitals are well-rested as they look to distance themselves from consecutive defeats to open November. They kicked off a three-game homestand with a 5-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Sunday and then a 6-5 defeat to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday.
In its last game, Washington ended up in a 4-0 hole after Dallas forward Jason Robertson scored a natural hat trick in the second period. Logan Thompson was pulled at 5:43 of the middle period after allowing four goals on 11 shots.
“I thought we did a lot of really good things,” said Washington’s Jakub Chychrun, who had a goal and an assist. “I thought we had a ton of chances. A couple crazy bounces for them that end up in the back of the net, but we stuck with it. I think right from that first shift of the game it felt like we were going.”
Jordan Kyrou finally got the Capitals on the board with a backhand shot 11 minutes into the second frame to trail 4-1, and Ryan Leonard scored Washington’s fifth goal of the night with 1:02 left in regulation. The Capitals were unable to get the tying goal before the final buzzer. Charlie Lindgren made nine saves in relief.
“I appreciated the way the guys battled and stayed in it,” Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery said. “Even though you’re down 4-0, even though easily you could just fold the tents, they fought and continued to play the right way.”