The Florida Panthers are looking to bounce back in a big way tonight as they wrap up a six-game road trip with a shot at a season-series sweep against the Washington Capitals.
Let’s not sugarcoat it - last night’s 9-1 drubbing at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes was rough. After Uvis Balinskis buried his second goal of the year to tie things up early in the second, it all unraveled fast.
Carolina responded with eight unanswered goals, six of them coming in a third period that Florida will want to forget as quickly as possible. The lone bright spot?
Sandis Vilmanis picked up his first NHL point with an assist on the Balinskis goal, and Mackie Samoskevich also chipped in with a helper.
Now, less than 24 hours later, the Panthers have to regroup and refocus. It’s a quick turnaround, but it’s also a chance to show resilience - something this team has leaned on throughout the season.
Sitting at 24-19-3, they’ve had their share of highs and lows, and this road trip has been no different. A win tonight would send them home with a 3-3 split and a little momentum heading into the next stretch.
On the other side, the Capitals come in at 24-18-6 and are trying to find consistency of their own. Since their loss to Florida back on December 29, Washington has gone 4-4-1 - a perfectly average stretch for a team still trying to figure out its identity in the second half of the season.
They’re coming off a 3-2 home loss to the San Jose Sharks, a game where Dylan Strome and rookie Ryan Leonard found the back of the net, but the offense couldn’t quite get over the hump. Logan Thompson made 23 saves in the loss.
Tom Wilson continues to be the engine for the Caps, leading the team in both goals (22) and total points (42). He’s been a tone-setter all year, and Florida will need to keep him in check if they want to leave the District with two points.
The Panthers took the first meeting between these two teams and have a chance to complete the sweep tonight. But more than that, they’re looking to prove that last night’s collapse was an outlier - not a trend. With tired legs and a bruised ego, this is the kind of game that tests a team’s character.
We’ll see how they respond.