Game Day Post (12/16/14): Washington Capitals (14-10-5) @ Florida Panthers (12-8-8)

Summary:

The feeling is not quite so sweet to end the Panthers 2 game road-trip. This past Saturday, they fell in disappointing fashion to the Buffalo Sabres on an overtime breakdown. Now, its back to the BB&T Center for one game before jumping back out on the road for another 2 game mini-trip.Tonight’s opponent: the Winter Classic bound Washington Capitals. The Panthers had great success when the 24/7 cameras were rolling on the Maple Leafs and Red Wings last year leading up to the Winter Classic. Can the Panthers steal the show again when the EPIX cameras are rolling this year? On to the game!

Know Your Enemy:

Panthers All-Time Record v. Washington: 44-50-9 with 9 ties
2014-15 Season Record v. Washington: 0-0-1
Last Game: 10/18/14 @ Verizon Center (Washington, DC), Panthers lost 2-1 in the shootout

It’s been nearly two months since these teams last faced each other. Since then, the Washington Capitals have been pretty busy. They have been engaged in a see-saw battle with the New York Rangers for 3rd in the Metropolitan Division. In fact, it was a combination of a 4-2 Capitals win over Tampa Bay on Saturday night in addition to a pair of Ranger wins against Vancouver and Edmonton over the weekend that has forced the Panthers out of the wild-card spot. The Capitals come in tonight with the fresh blood of a Florida based franchise on their hands. In two games against Tampa Bay over the past week, Tom Wilson has collected 3 assists, Alexander Ovechkin has collected four points (2 goals, 2 assists), and Nicklas Backstrom has 5 points, including a natural hat trick against the Lightning on Saturday night. The Capitals also possess the league’s most lethal power play, converting on over 26% of their opportunities. The Panthers will need to stay disciplined to keep that power play off the ice. Doing so will go a long way towards shutting down Ovechkin and company, which the Panthers did very well in their first game against the Capitals.

The Rundown:

Capital Leaders & Special Teams

Goals: Alex Ovechkin (14)
Assists: Nicklas Backstrom (22)
Points: Nicklas Backstrom (30)
Shot Attempts (Corsi) Rel: Mike Green (+5.6%)
Shot Attempt Differential: Alex Ovechkin (+69)
Power Play: 26.5% (1st)
Penalty Kill: 77.0% (26th)

Panther Leaders & Special Teams

Goals: Nick Bjugstad (12)
Assists: Aaron Ekblad & Jussi Jokinen (13)
Points: Nick Bjugstad (19)
Shot Attempt (Corsi) Rel: Sean Bergenheim (+7.3%)
Shot Attempt Differential: Sean Bergenheim (+78)
Power Play: 13.8% (25th)
Penalty Kill: 80.8% (T-17th)

*Shot Attempt (Corsi) Relative calculated at 5v5, having played at least one half of team’s games.

The Hat Trick:

1. The Panthers sure have dragged a lot games to overtime this season, haven’t they? This has to have been the most times they have taken games to overtime at this point of the season, right? Wrong, it is not so. However, this is the most times the Panthers have been to overtime in the post 2004-05 Lockout Era, with 11 of 28 games going to overtime so far this season. In those 11 games, they have collected 14 points, which is the 3rd most the Panthers have ever collected going past regulation time. The most the Panthers have ever collected is 16 points, which has happened twice. It most recently happened in the 2009-10 season, when they went to overtime 10 times, 8 of those extending to the shootout, also the most by the Panthers. By the way, what is the most times the Panthers have ever gone to overtime in the first 28 games? That would be 13 times, in 2002-03. That also happens to be the other season in which the Panthers collected 16 points in overtime, with 3 wins, 4 losses, and 6 ties.

2. A short, not so fun fact about the Panthers and overtime through 28 games: there have only been two times the Panthers have had a winning record in overtime: 2009-10 (6-4), and 2010-11 (3-0). All other seasons see the Panthers either being .500 or worse in the extra session.

3. Its only three games, but Dave Bolland has played well since his return from injury. He has collected 2 assists in those three games and so far has been a positive possession player. This likely has to do with his linemates but the fact is that he’s at least filling Aleksander Barkov’s gap in the lineup serviceable in the interim and appears to be making a positive impact on the team while doing so. Many people understandably expect more of Bolland, given the weight of his contract, but this is who Dave Bolland is: a gritty, defensive forward who can occasionally fill in on Top 6 duty and give you solid minutes on the PK. Soon, Barkov will return and Bolland will slide back to a role more suited to his skillset. Then, we will get a better idea of what he can bring to this team.

Projected Lineup:

Washington Capitals

D1: Orpik | Carlson
D2: Alzner | Niskanen
D3: Schmidt | Green

SG: Holtby
BG: Peters

Florida Panthers

D1: Campbell | Ekblad
D2: Mitchell | Kulikov
D3: Olsen | Gudbranson

SG: Luongo
BG: Montoya

Courtesy of Daily Faceoff (Accurate as of 10:00 am)

Closing Thoughts:

Who remembers this cringe-worthy commercial?

AJ can be reached for contact on Twitter .