After (another!) lengthy break in between games, the Washington Capitals showed no signs of rust as they controlled play against the Florida Panthers early on. They were rewarded for that with Anthony Mantha picking his spot perfectly on the rush, banking one in off Panthers center Anton Lundell with precision as the Caps took a 1-0 lead. Things would slowly go downhill from there as Florida eventually settled in, eventually getting a couple of goals from Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Sasha Barkov as they’d end the first period up 2-1.
Early in the 2nd, with the Panthers looking to break the game open on the power play, Aliaksei Protas came away with a rebound and booked it for the Panthers’ d-zone.