"An announced crowd of 15,231 Wednesday night at BankAtlantic Center included many tickets sold that went unused. It didn't seem to matter that the Washington Capitals and Florida Panthers were fighting for first place in the Southeast Division, as the odd confluence of an 8 p.m. start and Alex Ovechkin's suspension likely played a role in a light crowd.

And a role in the Caps' 4-2 loss apparently, too. Energy was lacking all night and the Caps struggled to scrounge enough of it up.

"I found that it was quiet; it was kind of tough to get up for the game here. I don't know why. I think I have an idea why," defenseman Karl Alzner said. "The crowd was quiet, yeah. So I think that has a little bit to do with it, but we should've created our own energy because it was such a big game, and we didn't do a good enough job doing it.""