Florida Panthers catch a wobbly Washington Capitals lineup.

The Capitals gave their morning skate updates through head coach Spencer Carbery, and the headline is simple, Thompson will start against Florida, with Wilson listed as a maybe and Justin Sourdif ruled out.

Justin Sourdif being out tonight also takes away a fun storyline, because facing a former team always adds a little extra juice.

He has been having an incredible season so far, carving out a real role with his speed and detail, which makes it disappointing not to see him on the ice against familiar faces.

It is one of those quiet absences that fans notice, because games like this are usually where players like Sourdif try to make a statement.

For the Panthers, that goalie confirmation matters because Thompson has been steady all year, carrying a 17-13-4 record with a 2.36 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage.

I know fans groan when a hot goalie gets confirmed early, because it instantly feels like a one-goal game where every rebound becomes life or death.

That makes Florida's response after Friday's 9-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes even more important, because you cannot bring a fragile mindset into a rink where the home team feeds off early momentum.

8782476On the Panthers side, it still has not been announced who is in goal, but it would make sense to see Daniil Tarasov, and Sergei Bobrovsky probably needs the rest after a heavy stretch.

If Tarasov does get it, the mission in front of him is to keep the middle clean, win enough battles on the walls, and avoid the kind of broken plays that turn into backdoor tap-ins.

Against Thompson, the Panthers also need to make their offense uglier, meaning more point shots with traffic, more second chances, and fewer cute seam passes that die on a stick check.

Washington's injury picture could swing their identity a bit, because Tom Wilson being in or out changes their forecheck bite and net-front snarl, and Sourdif being out forces someone else into those minutes.

This is one of those nights where the next milestones worth watching are emotional, not numeric, a calmer first ten minutes, a cleaner second period, and a push that looks like Panthers hockey again.