Brady Tkachuk's two goals can't save the Panthers

The Panthers dropped a 4-3 decision to the Capitals in Washington this afternoon, and a late push came up just short.

Brady Tkachuk scored twice in the first period and Florida pushed hard to the final horn. It wasn't enough on a day that got ugly early, with Tom Wilson's boarding major on Sandis Vilmanis changing the mood of the game.

Florida came in at 9-5-2 before today, with a 7-3-0 mark over its last 10. That is a team that had been winning and had just beaten Chicago on Wednesday.

Tarik El-Bashir wrote that the Capitals got goals from Jack St. Ivany, Alex Tuch, Aliaksei Protas and Pierre-Luc Dubois, and that Logan Thompson made 27 saves, several of them timely.

The Panthers led 2-1 after the first on Tkachuk's pair. Washington answered with second-period goals from Tuch and Protas to take a 3-2 lead into the second intermission.

Florida actually had the better of the shot count through 40 minutes, up 21-17 after two periods according to Sammi Silber. The scoreboard didn't match it, and Thompson had a lot to do with that.

A late goal that came too late for Florida

Washington stretched the lead to 4-2, and the Panthers kept coming anyway. Silber flagged the goal that made it close.

Sammi Silber reported that Florida pulled within one with 45.4 seconds to go.

The team account answered with two words, and Sam Bennett was the scorer.

That was as close as they got. The Panthers had no way to find the tying goal in the final seconds, and the team account closed it out with the final.

Tkachuk leaves with 8 goals and 17 points in 16 games this season, and he is the reason this one was ever in doubt. Florida deserved better from its other top players on a day when the first period handed them a lead.

Akira Schmid had his own big stops on Tuch, among others, so this wasn't a goaltending collapse. It was a game in which the Panthers chased from the second period on, and Washington's goalie held on.

Another look at the details of the Tom Wilson ejection for boarding is worth your time, because Vilmanis did not return. Whether the league looks at supplemental discipline is still to come.

Next up is a trip to Boston on Sunday, and the Bruins are 12-4-1 with a 7-1-0 record at home. That is a back-to-back with very little time to shake this one off.

Quick hits

NEW YORK RANGERSJoonas Korpisalo gets the nod in Seattle tonight. Mike Sullivan has made the call, and it's a fresh start between the pipes.

PITTSBURGH PENGUINSEvgeni Malkin skates on the top line with Sidney Crosby in tonight's projected lineup in Los Angeles. That pairing always gets attention.

BUFFALO SABRESJack Rathbone cleared waivers, so no team claimed the defenseman. He stays in the organization for now.

ST-LOUIS BLUESJim Montgomery is shaking up his forwards in Nashville, with Connor McMichael moving to center. A quick fix for a lineup that needed something.

EDMONTON OILERSAtro Leppanen has been placed on waivers hours before tonight's game against the Canucks. A late roster move before puck drop.