"Darcy Kuemper sucks": Washington Capitals netminder criticized by fans after OT loss to Panthers

The Washington Capitals were defeated at home 4-3 in overtime by the Florida Panthers on Wednesday, with many fans blaming goalie Darcy Kuemper for the loss.

Kuemper took responsibility for the Caps between the pipes in this contest. He made 21 saves and conceded four goals with a .840 SV%. It took only 15 seconds for Sam Reinhart to beat the Caps goalie to seal the road victory for the Panthers in OT.

Reinhart received the cross-ice pass from Aleksander Barkov, beat Kuznetsov as he skated toward the net, and slotted the puck just over Kuemper's glove into the back of the net for the winner. Many fans believed that shot should have been blocked by the goalie.

Here's how fans reacted to the Caps' loss on X, formerly Twitter:

"Darcy Kuemper sucks so much it’s incredible"

How did the Florida Panthers beat the Washington Capitals?

On Wednesday, the Washington Capitals (5-4-2) hosted the Florida Panthers (7-4-1) at Capital One Arena.

In the first period, the Caps got off to a great start as Anthony Mantha's wrist-shot goal off Aliaksei Protas and Darcy Kuemper gave the team a 1-0 lead at the 10:42 mark.

However, two minutes later, Oliver Ekman-Larsson's wrist-shot goal set up by Matthew Tkachuk and Anton Lundell equalized the game at 1-1. With under four minutes remaining before the second period, Aleksander Barkov's snapshot goal gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead.

At the 6:13 mark of the second period, Connor McMichael scored for the Washington Capitals and tied the game at 2-2. At 15:51, Mantha scored his second goal of the night, giving the Caps a goal ahead before the third period.

Coming into the third, Evan Rogrigues' tip-in goal made it 3-3, resulting in overtime. It didn't take long for the Cats to end the contest, as Sam Reinhart sealed the win for the Panthers just 15 seconds into overtime.

Mantha, Aliaksei Protas, and Connor McMichael all picked up two points for the Caps. Meanwhile, Barkov, Ekman-Larsson, Reinhart and Evan Rodrigues all contributed two points to the Panthers' win.

Sergei Bobrovsky posted a .893 SV% and made 25 saves for the Panthers in the contest.

The Washington Capitals will next be up against the New Jersey Devils (7-4-1) on Friday, Nov. 10. The puck drop for the game is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.