Florida Panthers vs. Washington Capitals preview, Digi Mart USA News: The Florida Panthers will visit the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. ET, opening a three-game road trip.
Florida is coming off a 2-1-0 homestand and improved to 9-5-2 after a 5-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday.
Sam Bennett said of the early afternoon back-to-backs, “That’s just part of the NHL schedule. Sometimes you get those games and some sometimes it’s nice to just wake up and go play hockey.” Washington enters the matchup with an 8-6-0 record and is on a two-game skid after a 6-5 loss to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday.
In that loss, Washington trailed 4-0 in the second period before mounting a late comeback that fell just short. Jordan Kyrou recorded three points (1 goal, 2 assists) for the Capitals in the defeat.
Carter Verhaeghe is on a five-game point streak, with seven points (3 goals, 4 assists), 16 shots and a +3 plus/minus rating during that span. He leads the Panthers with two game-winning goals and a 26.5% shooting percentage.
Latvian forward Sandis Vilmanis has been productive recently. He recorded four points (2 goals, 2 assists) and a +3 plus/minus rating in Wednesday’s win over Chicago, and has five points (2 goals, 3 assists), three shots and a +4 plus/minus rating over the last two games.
Florida has played 10 of its 16 games on the road this season and holds a 5-3-2 road record. Its 23.5% road power play and 84.4% road penalty kill both rank among the top ten in the NHL.
Cole Schwindt has won 62.7% of his faceoffs. Matthew Tkachuk leads the team with 12 power play points, and Gustav Forsling is averaging 3:32 of shorthanded time on ice per game.
Sam Bennett said of Sam Reinhart, “He’s an elite player in this league and has been for a long time. He’s one of the offensive drivers on this team.
When he’s going, usually our team is going as well.” Paul Maurice, on Alex Ovechkin’s longevity, said, “It’s a great perspective of how incredibly difficult it is to be that good.” Niko Mikkola, on playing early games, said, “Normal breakfast, maybe a little more oatmeal than normal. A couple cups of coffee and should be ready to go.”
Alex Tuch leads Washington with 10 goals this season and leads the NHL with five game-winning goals. Jakob Chychrun leads Washington’s skaters in ice time at a team-high 24:41 per game and has 11 points (2 goals, 9 assists).
In net, Washington will start either Logan Thompson, who is 5-4-0 with a .887 save percentage and 3.22 goals against average, or Charlie Lindgren, who is 3-2-0 with a .881 save percentage and 3.08 goals against average. Washington averages 3.50 goals per game, ninth in the NHL, and 3.70 goals at Capital One Arena.
Lineup updates are expected closer to puck drop. Recent roster moves include G Cooper Black being recalled from Charlotte (AHL) on Oct. 20 and loaned back to Charlotte (AHL) on Nov. 2.
