The Capitals got three of four points in Florida.
The Washington Capitals put up a good fight in Sunrise, but it was only good for one point against the Florida Panthers.
Sonny Milano and Tom Wilson scored, but a late game-tying goal and mistake in overtime led to a 3-2 loss.
Here are all the takeaways from the loss. D.C. is six points out of a playoff spot and has points in four straight.
Power Play Gets Capitals A Point, Wilson Ends Goal Drought While Milano & Sandin Stay Hot
With his team down 1-0 after an unfortunate deflection goal against, Rasmus Sandin and Washington were eager to score on their third power play opportunity of the night, and it was a gorgeous feed from the Swede that led to the equalizer.
Sandin picked up a cross-ice pass from Max Pacioretty and saw Sonny Milano lurking backdoor before making a highlight-reel pass to No. 15 for the easy tap-in to tie things up at 1.
The Capitals, who were 0-for-4 in Tampa on the man advantage, now have power-play goals in four of the last five outings. Sandin now has points in back-to-back games and seven points in his last 10 games overall after a slow start offensively to the year.
Milano also has two goals and an assist and has found the scoresheet in three of his last four games since returning to the lineup from an upper-body injury that held him out for over two months.
Then in the third, Wilson took matters into his own hands, speeding up ice and going to his back when to beat Stolarz and give the Capitals a 2-1 lead.
It ended a 13-game goal drought for Wilson, who also scored his 13th of the season and now has three points in his last two games.
Dylan Strome also got an assist to extend his point streak to four games.
Capitals Play Strong Game, Control Tempo & Show Grit In Chippy Game, But Give Up Late Lead And Fall In OT
Washington got off to a solid start, doubling up 8-4 on shots in the first 20 minutes of play and leading in high-quality chances on Anthony Stolarz. However, the Panthers would strike first, ending a nice streak where D.C. managed the first goal in multiple contests.
Nick Cousins would get on the board first, as the Florida forward was left unprotected in the slot and able to deflect a Dmitry Kulikov point shot past Charlie Lindgren to give his team the lead. It was an unfortunate bounce that made it through, but the breakdown in coverage also led to Cousins being in the perfect place at the right time.
After the Panthers started to tilt the ice back, Anthony Mantha dropped the gloves and dropped Cousins, giving D.C. back the momentum. From there, Washington would go back to controlling the tempo.
Overall, the Capitals did a great job of shutting down the Panthers and controlling the rhythm of the game for the most part. But things fell apart in the end.
Charlie Lindgren also stood tall, but a late game-tying goal for the Cats forced overtime, and Gustav Forsling won things in OT on a 3-on-1 break near the end of the period.
Dubé Makes NHL Debut, Alexeyev Draws Back Into Lineup After 11 Games As Scratch
The Capitals got an NHL debut on Saturday, as Pierrick Dubé laced 'em up and appeared in his first NHL game with T.J. Oshie still being evaluated for a lower-body injury suffered in Tampa.
Dubé, who is tied for second in the AHL goal-scoring race with 24 goals in 50 games this season, skated on the fourth line with Aliaksei Protas and Beck Malenstyn. He was using his speed to his advantage and also showcased his high hockey IQ and.
Meanwhile, Alex Alexeyev drew back into the mix, slotting in for Ethan Bear following 11 games as a healthy scratch. Alexeyev looked strong and confident, not missing a beat despite the belong time away. He skated on the third pairing with Joel Edmundson and got some time with other defensemen in the first after Nick Jensen left the game briefly after going hard into the boards.
Overall, he played a solid game, blocking a team-leading four shots, breaking up plays and shutting down the Panthers' offense.