Panthers at Capitals
One day after becoming the first player in the league to reach double figures in goals, captain Alex Ovechkin looks to continue his success against Florida when the Washington Capitals host the Panthers on Saturday. Ovechkin increased his total to 10 goals when he scored in overtime to beat Detroit 4-3 on Friday and has torched the Panthers for 35 goals and 38 assists in 57 career meetings.
The Capitals snapped a two-game slide with the victory as T.J. Oshie scored on the power play with 1:01 remaining in regulation before Ovechkin cashed in during a man advantage 1:56 into the extra session. Washington looks to add another victory before flying to Western Canada for a three-game road trip and likely will face James Reimer, who replaced Roberto Luongo after the veteran suffered an apparent hand injury in Florida’s 4-3 home loss to Pittsburgh on Friday. The Panthers have been productive on the offensive end but are having a difficult time keeping the puck out of their net, averaging four goals allowed in their first six games. One positive out of the loss for Florida, which has dropped three straight, was the first goal of the season from 2013 second-overall pick Aleksander Barkov.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, NBCSN Washington
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (2-4-0): Special teams have been a major problem for Florida in the first half-dozen games, as it is 4-for-26 with the man advantage and has allowed eight power-play goals - three in Friday’s setback. Jonathan Huberdeau recorded an assist on Friday to take over the team lead with six points and newcomer Radim Vrbata notched his team-leading fifth assist but still is looking for his first goal. Reimer is 1-2-0 with an .880 save percentage and 4.11 goals-against average in three appearances (two starts) this season after going 18-16-5 in 2016-17.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (4-3-1): Andre Burakovsky was demoted from the top two lines and responded with his first goal of the season along with an assist on Friday while playing primarily with Brett Connolly and Lars Eller. Nicklas Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov each notched an assist in the win at Detroit and are tied for the team lead with 12 points - one better than Ovechkin, who registered seven shots on Friday. Braden Holtby was in net for the victory, and that is expected to give the Saturday start to backup Philipp Grubauer, who has struggled this season (0-1-1, .844 save percentage).
OVERTIME
1. Oshie, who has registered nine points in his first eight games, is slated to play in his 600th NHL contest on Saturday.
2. Florida D MacKenzie Weegar scored his first NHL goal on Friday in his season debut and fourth career game.
3. The Panthers have won three of the last five meetings, including a 2-0 triumph at Washington on April 9 in the last matchup.