FHN TODAY: Florida Panthers Rep Parkland; Ovechkin Out

The Florida Panthers paid tribute to the 5-year anniversary of the Stoneman Douglas High School massacre in Parkland on Tuesday in a variety of ways.

The players made the most public display, wearing special t-shirts with the names of the 17 victims printed on the front along with the team logo and the #MSDStrong hashtag.

A Douglas hockey jersey as well as a special MSD STRONG Panthers jersey from 2018 also hung in the team’s locker room in St. Louis.

Back at home, team employees gathered at the digital marquee in front of the arena for a moment of silence — all wearing the t-shirts the players wore — while placing large flower arrangements at the memorial on the 100 level of the arena.

On the ice, the Panthers lost 6-2 to the Blues and now get ready for a key matchup Thursday against the Washington Capitals.

The big news coming out of the D.C. on Tuesday was that star Alex Ovechkin will be out for the next few games — including Thursday night.

More on the Ovi situation below.

Photos courtesy @FlaPanthers

FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW

The Florida Panthers seemed to run out of gas in their blowout loss to the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night as the schedule, again, caught up to them.

They just cannot have too many of these moving forward.

Washington, next.

• Spencer Knight got back in net for the Florida Panthers for the first time since Jan. 6.
• Anthony Duclair is close to returning to the Florida lineup — but how do the Panthers make it work?
• Postgame video from Monday night as Paul Maurice, Radko. Gudas and Carter Verhaeghe spoke after the loss in St. Louis. You can click the embedded videos below or click RIGHT HERE to see everything all in one place.
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NATIONAL HOCKEY NOW

The Washington Capitals said that captain Alex Ovechkin would be out for the “foreseeable future” as he left the team to deal with a family matter and the health of a loved one.

On Wednesday, Ovechkin announced the death of his father with an Instagram post.

Ovechkin visited the Capitals at their training facility on Tuesday and the team has thrown all of their support behind  their captain.

He missed Tuesday night’s loss to the Hurricanes and is expected to miss Thursday’s game against the Panthers and the stadium game in Raleigh this weekend.

Speaking of the game Tuesday, the Capitals had a goal waved off which Peter Laviolette was not happy with.

Oh, and they had to fix the goal cage with duct tape.

• The Blue Jackets have put defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov on the shelf heading into the NHL Trade Deadline. If there is a player available, the Boston Bruins are in the running for him.
• Looking at two of the big trades the San Jose Sharks could make in the coming weeks.
• The Vegas Golden Knights are in much better shape than they were before the All-Star break.
• The Pittsburgh Penguins found a way to win in San Jose on Tuesday.
• The New York Islanders have lost three straight after losing to the Sens.

PANTHERS ON DECK

 FLORIDA PANTHERS AT WASHINGTON CAPITALS

• When: Thursday, 7 p.m.
• Where: Capital One Arena, Washington D.C.
• TV/Streaming: Bally Sports Florida; ESPN+
• Radio: WQAM 560-AM; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932
• Last season: Panthers won 2-1 (d. Capitals 4-2 in first round)
  
• This season (Florida leads 1-0): Panthers 5, Capitals 2 (Nov. 15)
• All-time regular season series: Washington leads 67-44-12, 9 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Saturday at Nashville, 2