The Florida Panthers left Washington, D.C. on a bad note for the second time this year after the Washington Capitals won Sunday's game 4-3.
A game after recording a shutout, Roberto Luongo had a tough day. Not only did the goalie allow three goals but he was involved in a scary collision with Capitals star Alex Ovechkin. Luongo would end up sitting out the third period but was seen on the bench which is a positive sign for Florida.
Back in October, the Panthers fell to the Capitals in a shootout. It was the fourth defeat of the year for Florida in its first five tries. Since then, the Panthers have vastly improved and the team beat the Capitals at BB&T Center in December.
With this loss, the Panthers are now 17-11-9 this season and sit in tenth place in the Eastern Conference. The race is tight however and Florida is only two points back of eighth place Toronto.
Before exiting the game, Luongo allowed three goals on 21 attempts. It was one of the poorer games for the goalie who has enjoyed a fine season overall.
With Luongo out of the game, Florida turned to Al Montoya. The backup goaltender had five save chances in the third period and allowed the eventual game-winner to score. At the time, the goal put Washington up by two.
Florida's first goal of the game came in the second period when Vincent Trocheck put home his fourth of the year. Assists went to Willie Mitchell and Jussi Jokinen on the goal.
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A little more than a minute later, Dylan Olsen's second goal of the season gave Florida a 2-1 lead. Assists were credited to Shane O'Brien and Nick Bjugstad.
The last goal of the day for the Panthers was scored by Bjugstad with 1:59 left in regulation. It trimmed the deficit to one at the time and was the 15th of the year for Bjugstad. Assists on the goal went to Aaron Ekblad and Dave Bolland.
The road trip for Florida will continue on Thursday when it travels to Vancouver for a game with the Canucks.
