Caps @ Panthers 11-6-2009 Preview

Washington Capitals (8-7; 20 points) @ Florida Panthers (5-8; 11 points):
Caps Game #16, Road Game #8, NHL Game #222

BankAtlantic Center, Sunrise, FL, 7:37 pm. Washington TV: Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic Plus. Radio: WFED 1500-AM. Florida TV: Fox Sportsnet Florida. Radio: WAXY 790-AM.  Canadian National TV: RDS (French)  NHL Center Ice: Fox Sportsnet Florida, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic Plus feeds.

Tonight, the Caps, losers of three games in a row, head down to South Florida for the first time this season to face the Florida Panthers in the front end of a home-and-home series.  The Caps split the series with Florida last year 3-3 with none of the games requiring extra time but the road team was 2-1 in the matchup.  The Panthers are getting their season in gear after a slow start and have won three games in a row.  They too were last in action on Wednesday night winning 3-0 at home against the Carolina Hurricanes.

What The Natives Are Saying:

(Com)Post.  Times.  Caps.com.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com.  AP Wire.

Open Source Intelligence:

Miami Herald.

What Do We Expect Tonight?:

So Bruce Boudreau turned to the bag skate to try to get the team's attention after the loss in Joisey on Wednesday night.  He admits it wasn't too hard because of the back-to-back games but the Caps will have to be much more on their toes tonight because Florida goaltender Tomas Vokoun hasn't allowed a goal in almost (just one second shy) 123 minutes.  The puck will eventually get past him but the Caps will need the secondary scoring to get going tonight because when a goaltender is playing that well, it tends to be an "ugly" goal that break the streak.  The Caps will be without A.O. for both games this weekend but in the end, it shouldn't matter.  The Panthers lost David Booth two weeks ago and are 3-1 since then, scoring 15 goals in those four games and there's no reason why the Caps can't find their legs and play well without A.O. too.  The Caps certainly have enough talent to beat Florida but as the players have been saying for the past couple of days, it is a matter of execution, and most importantly, staying out of the penalty box.  Florida has the 28th ranked Power Play but right now, especially in the third period, that dosen't mean much against the Caps.

Caps Nut Official Prediction:

Caps 2
Florida 4
Winner by Horton
(5-10 on the season with one perfect game a near miss last time out...)