The good news in the wake of a bizarre and bumbling 7-4 loss to the Lightning is that it won't be long before the Capitals get a chance to make amends before heading back to Verizon Center, making a stop in Sunrise, Fla. for a battle with the Panthers.
Sloppy play, bad penalties and uninspired effort marked the loss, as after everything went right in an 8-1 win at Atlanta Saturday, pretty much everything outside a 12-minute span in the second period went wrong.
Fortunately for the Caps, Washington also avoided further bad news when Matt Bradley stepped in to take on Steve Downie late in the third period as the game devolved into a beer-league conclusion in the latter stages. Some of the Lightning accused the Caps' star of a dirty hit along the boards which sparked the first of two meelees involving Ovechkin, including the rare sight of him coming out of the penalty box and quickly responding to a challenge.
But, the Capitals leave relatively chilly Tampa Bay and head down to south Florida to meet a Panthers team that has seen feast-or-famine since Dec. 23, going 2-5-0 and scoring 9 goals in the two wins but just eight in the five losses.
Likewise, so far Washington has owned the season series against the Panthers, outscoring Florida 17-7 - but of course, the Caps just lost their 12-game domination over the Lightning. The teams met once at BankAtlantic Center, with the Caps taking the first end of a home-and-home back on Nov. 6.
But key for the Capitals will be to finish off an uneven road trip with a win before they begin a three-game home stand and a stretch where seven of their next nine are on home ice.
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