Washington heads to Sunrise, Florida for a date with the homestanding Panthers. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:08 p.m. EST. 

The Caps have been in a lull over the past few weeks. Washington has dropped six of its last eight games and sit sixth in the Metropolitan Division. Alexander Ovechkin leads the Capitals in scoring with eight goals in 17 games this season. Washington’s captain also leads the team in points with 14. Evgeny Kuznetsov and Dylan Strome are the only other Capitals with double-digit points with 13 and 12 each. Darcy Kuemper might have a 5-7-1 record but has solid numbers. The 32-year-old has a 2.63 goals against average and a .911 save percentage in 13 games this season.

The Panthers are finally healthy after dealing with injuries for much of the early going. Florida’s 17 points slots them in a four-way tie for third in the Atlantic Division. Carter Verhaeghe leads the Cats in scoring with eight goals thus far. Matthew Tkachuk’s 17 points lead the Panthers while Brandon Montour (15) and Verhaeghe (14) follow close behind. Sergei Bobrovsky and Spencer Knight have split starts down the middle this season. Bobrovsky is 3-4-1 with a 3.29 GAA and an .897 SV%. Knight is 5-2-0 with a 2.31 GAA and a .922 SV%. 

Washington and Florid met in both the regular and postseason last year. Florida took two of three regular season matchups before defeating Washington in six games in the first round of last season’s playoffs. Tonight’s starting goaltenders are projected to be Kuemper for Washington and Bobrovsky for Florida.