RECAP: Capitals 4, Panthers 1

SUNRISE, Fla. – They’re not out of the wood just yet.

Still trying to snap out of their current uncharacteristic funk, the Florida Panthers came up just a bit short in a 4-1 loss to the Washington Capitals at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday.

Falling to 12-9-1, the Panthers have lost six of seven games after winning seven straight.

“It was a tight game,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “The chances will probably end up even. That’s it. There will be a bunch of stuff we like and a whole bunch of stuff we don’t.”

Shining in defeat, Spencer Knight stopped 27 of 29 shots in Florida’s net.

“We’ve got to stick with it,” Knight said. “We’ve done a lot of things right. We’re working hard. The effort’s there. Everyone’s buying in. Every team’s good in this league and anyone can beat anyone on any given night. I think we’ve just got to keep digging in.”

Netting his first goal of the season, Niko Mikkola, who’s been racking up the assists out of the gate, put the Panthers on top early when he joined the rush and beat Logan Thompson with a top-shelf shot from the left circle to make it 1-0 at the 7-minute mark of the first period.

Responding for the Capitals, Jakob Chychrun, who grew up playing locally for the Jr. Panthers, set up Lars Eller for a goal with slick a cross-ice pass to make it 1-1 at 17:49.

Nearly putting the Panthers back on top in the second period, Aleksander Barkov was denied on a wrap-around by a stick save from defenseman Rasmus Sandin. Later in the period, another Capitals blueliner, this time Matt Roy, swept away a puck near the goal line.

Dealing with an injury scare, the Panthers played much of the second period without third-line center Anton Lundell after he was hit in the face by a deflected puck. Thankfully, he was able to return later in the period and looked no worse for wear in terms of his play.

Earning an extended 5-on-3 power play early in the third period, the Capitals took the lead when Chychrun fired a shot past a screened Knight to make it 2-1 at 1:18.

“We got too many penalties in the third, and they got the lead,” Mikkola said. “We couldn’t score. I think we had our chances today, but missed the net too many times.”

With just over five minutes left in regulation, Knight helped keep the Panthers within striking distance when he lunged to his right to rob Chychrun of a surefire goal with his blocker.

That was just one of eight high-danger saves he made against Washington.

“He’s been great,” Mikkola said. “We haven’t given him the wins he deserves.”

After the Panthers pulled Knight for the extra attacker, the Capitals shut down the comeback attempt when Eller potted an empty-net goal to make it 3-1 at 18:32.

With 23 seconds left, Ivan Miroschnichenko added another empty-netter to make it 4-1.

Despite another loss, the Panthers believe they’re close to turning the corner.

"I know we've got a lot of tremendous players that when they flip the switch they're almost impossible to stop,” Knight said. “I see it every day in practice. I don't have a doubt in my mind these guys are going to turn it around. It's unbelievable watching them when they're clicking."

THEY SAID IT

“There’s a piece of our game we’re missing, and we’re going to have to find it.” – Paul Maurice

“Any time it’s a close and it comes down the last little bit in a one-goal game, regardless of how many chances you get or you give up, it’s just frustrating.” – Spencer Knight

“I think it was a good battle. It’s a good team, Washington. They gave their best. I think we were a little bit off.” – Niko Mikkola

CATS STATS

- Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk each had five hits.

- Sam Reinhart’s point streak ended at 13 games.

- Nate Schmidt blocked a team-high three shots.

- Aleksander Barkov won 66.7% of his faceoffs.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The Panthers always seem to get up for these playoff rematches.

With a great opportunity to get back on track, they’ll host the Toronto Maple Leafs at Amerant Bank Arena in a pre-Thanksgiving battle on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

For tickets, click HERE.