Capitals Fall To Panthers, 3-2 In Overtime; Sonny Milano Scores 2nd Goal Since Return From Injury


Photo: X/@FlaPanthers

The Washington Capitals fell to the Florida Panthers, 3-2 (OT) Saturday night at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida. The overtime loss drops Washington’s record to 26-21-9 (61 points) on the season.

Following a scoreless first frame, the Panthers opened the scoring early in the middle stanza with a deflected goal by Nick Cousins. But the Capitals answered late in the period with a power play goal from Sonny Milano to make it 1-1 at the second intermission.

The Capitals took their first lead of the night midway through the third period on a power play goal by Tom Wilson, his 13th tally of the season, but the Panthers answered late in regulation with their own power play goal to tie it 2-2, ultimately sending the game to overtime.

The Panthers won it in the extra frame.

LINEUP

Charlie Lindgren (12-8-4, 2.63 GAA, .915 sv%) got the start in goal for the visiting Capitals. Anthony Stolarz (9-5-2, 1.97 GAA, .926 sv%) got the start between the pipes for the Panthers. The starting forward lines and defensive pairs for the Capitals:

Alex Ovechkin – Dylan Strome – Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Anthony Mantha – Connor McMichael – Tom Wilson
Max Pacioretty – Mike Sgarbossa – Sonny Milano
Beck Malenstyn – Aliaksei Protas – Pierrick Dube

Trevor van Riemsdyk – John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin – Nick Jensen
Alex Alexeyev – Joel Edmundson

Charlie Lindgren
Darcy Kuemper

Scratches: T.J. Oshie (injury), Nic Dowd (upper body injury, day-to-day), Hendrix Lapierre, Ethan Bear, Nicklas Backstrom (hip).

1ST PERIOD

The Capitals and Panthers went without a tally in the first frame. Florida led in five-on-five shot attempts, 14-12, and scoring chances, 6-3. The Capitals were 0 for 2 on the power play while the Panthers did not have a man advantage in the first 20 minutes.

2ND PERIOD

The Panthers opened the scoring early in the middle frame. Nick Cousins (3) deflected a long-range blast by Dmitry Kulikov at 4:03 of the second period.

The Capitals tied the game with a power play goal from Sonny Milano (6) at 18:31 of the second period. Rasmus Sandin (15) and Max Pacioretty (10) had the helpers.

The game remained tied 1-1 into the second intermission. Five-on-five shot attempts were tied 15-15 in the second period.

3RD PERIOD

The Capitals took their first lead of the night on a power play goal by Tom Wilson (13) midway through the third period. Dylan Strome (21) and John Carlson (29) had the assists.

The Panthers were awarded a power play late in the frame, and they would cash-in. Carter Verhaege notched the tying tally at 16:30.

Regulation would end, tied 2-2.

OVERTIME

The Panthers won it in the extra frame.

SHAVINGS (From Capitals PR)

  • Alex Ovechkin played in his 1,40oth career NHL game.
  • Sonny Milano scores his sixth goal of the season to tie the game 1-1. Milano has recorded three points (2g, 1a) in four games since returning to the Capitals lineup on Feb. 17.
  • Rasmus Sandin earned the primary assist on Milano’s goal, extending his point streak to three games (1g, 2a). Sandin has recorded 12 points (3g, 9a) in his last 17 games.
  • Max Pacioretty recorded the secondary assist on Milano’s goal, his 10th assist in 21 games this season. Pacioretty ranks tied for third on Washington in assists since Jan. 3, when he made his season debut (Ovechkin: 12a; Strome: 11a; Carlson: 10a).
  • Tom Wilson scored his 13th goal of the season to give the Capitals a 2-1 lead. It marks Wilson’s fourth power-play goal, which ranks fourth on Washington (Ovechkin: 7 PPG; Oshie: 6 PPG; Strome: 5 PPG).
  • John Carlson earned the secondary assist on Wilson’s power-play goal, his team-leading 29th assist of the season. Carlson also leads Washington in power-play assists (11) and ranks tied for second in power-play points (12).

By Jon Sorensen

About Jon Sorensen

Jon has been a Caps fan since day one, attending his first game at the Capital Centre in 1974. His interest in the Caps has grown over the decades and included time as a season ticket holder. He has been a journalist covering the team for 10+ years, primarily focusing on analysis, analytics and prospect development.





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