Panthers Taken By Capitals

     The Florida Panthers were beaten by the Washington Capitals 4-1 at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday night. The Panthers have fallen in four straight contests and six of their last seven games. Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin did not play tonight due to a left femur fracture he suffered last week. 

     Florida(12-9-1) roared out to a 1-0 at the seven-minute mark of the opening frame. Carter Verhaeghe made a clearing pass from the Cats zone. Sam Bennett carried the puck through center ice and angled a pass from the top of the zone. Nico Mikkola placed in a wrist shot from the low left circle by Logan Thompson for his first tally this year. The last time Mikkola scored a regular season goal was on November 20, 2023 against the Edmonton Oilers. 

     Washington(14-6-1) tied it up 1-1 with 2:11 remaining in the first. Jakob Chychrun ripped a diagonal pass from the right point. Lars Eller roofed a forehand shot from the left of the crease over Spencer Knight for his fifth goal of the campaign. 

     In the third period, the Capitals got a 5-on-3 power-play goal at 1:18 for a 2-1 advantage. Tom Wilson pushed the puck ahead from the right point to Dylan Strome on the right wing. He passed to the top of the zone and Chychrun scored on a wrist shot for his sixth goal in a Washington uniform. 

     The Panthers pulled their goalie for an extra attacker with 2:15 to go. The Caps increased it to 3-1 with 1:28 left in the third. Eller skated the puck through the neutral zone and backhanded a shot from the inner right circle into an empty net for his second goal of the contest and sixth goal of the season. Ivan Miroshnichenko hustled and poked in another empty-net goal, from the blue paint, for the Capitals with 22.9 seconds remaining for a three-goal margin.