Panthers at Capitals
Two teams coming off different ends of blowouts will meet Saturday when the Florida Panthers visit the Washington Capitals. The Capitals enjoyed their best game of the season Friday - a 7-0 victory over Philadelphia - while the Panthers fell to the seventh time in eight contests with a 4-0 loss to St. Louis. That defeat ended a six-game homestand for Florida, which hopes to have more success as it begins a stretch of four road contests in its next five games.
Washington knows something about winning on the road after wrapping a season-high five-game trip with its third victory courtesy of the rout of the Flyers. The seven goals were the most the Capitals have scored since a 7-1 win on March 7 - the last time they played Florida at home. In all, Washington has won seven in a row against the Panthers and has outscored them 32-12 over that span.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FoxSports Florida, CSN Washington
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (3-8-2): Florida has already been shut out three times this season and is averaging just two goals a contest. Tomas Fleischmann has been the main offensive contributor with nine points (two goals, seven assists). Goaltender Tim Thomas is on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, giving Jacob Markstrom (1-5-2) the starting job.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (6-7-0): What made Washington’s blowout of Philadelphia even more impressive is that it happened without captain Alex Ovechkin, who sat out after suffering an upper-body injury Monday against Vancouver. The Capitals are hopeful the reigning Hart Trophy winner, who is second in the league with 10 goals, will be able to play against Florida. Braden Holtby, who turned aside 27 shots despite getting battered in a goalie fight on Friday, has four wins in his last five starts.
OVERTIME
1. Washington’s victory Friday was its first win of the season when Ovechkin didn’t score a goal.
2. Florida has only four power-play goals in 43 chances.
3. The Capitals are ranked in the top three in the league in both power play (26 percent) and penalty kill (91.8 percent).