Tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Washington Capitals (17-12-2, 36 points) and Florida Panthers (10-17-5, 25 points) go head-to-head live from the BB&T Center in Florida for the second of three meetings this season. The game can be live streamed here. Washington fans can hear all of the bone-crunching action by adjusting their radios to WFED 1500 while Florida fans can do the same on WQAM 560.
Washington enters play having won three straight games and four out of their last five while Florida will hope their goaltender is ready to go. The first time these two teams met, it went down to the wire as the Capitals topped the Panthers 3-2 in a shootout on Nov. 2 in Washington.
Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin has been on fire, and he netted four goals in the Caps 6-5 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in a shootout on Tuesday.
"He's shooting the puck the best I've ever seen him shoot it since we've been here," defenseman Mike Green told the Washington Post. "He's just got that knack. He understands when to shoot, it's amazing how many shots he does get a game and, obviously, with the accuracy and poise he has with his shot; it's incredible how he picks those corners."
Ovechkin, the league's reigning Hart Trophy winner, leads the NHL with 26 goals and also has nine assists for 35 points while Nicklas Backstrom has eight points in his last five games for a total of seven tallies and 25 helpers for 32 points and Mikhail Grabovski has found the twine nine times and added 17 assists for 26 points.
The Panthers could have some goalie trouble after oft-injured yet steady Tim Thomas left practice Thursday with an injury, but coach Peter Horachek said he wasn't sure initially what ailed Thomas--who has missed 10 games due to various injuries this season.
"I don't know what the issue was, whether it was equipment or it was him," Horachek told the Miami Herald. "He just said he had to go. ... That's where we are."
The Panthers called up Jacob Markstrom incase Thomas can't go, and may go with Scott Clemmensen. Thomas is 9-10-1 with a 2.75 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage this season. The Capitals probable starter is Braden Holtby, who is 13-9-1 with a 2.82 GAA and a .920 save percentage.
Holtby will look to stop a Florida unit that is led by Scottie Upshall, who has 17 points off of six goals and 11 assists while Tomas Fleischmann has three points in his last five games for a total of 16 points off of four tallies and 12 helpers and Brian Campbell has lit the lamp four times and added 11 helpers for 15 points.
The Capitals will look for their fourth straight win while the Panthers hope that their goaltender situation won't hurt them on the ice when these teams take the ice at the BB&T Center tonight in Florida.
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