Caps (35-12-6, 76 points) vs. Florida Panthers (23-21-9, 55 points)
Can the Caps make it nine in a row tonight? They’ll have to crack Florida goalie Tomas Vokoun, who is having a fine season for the Panthers and could throw a scare into some unlucky team at the Olympics next month in Vancouver. He will almost certainly be the starting goalie for the Czech Republic. Vokoun has a 2.33 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage with six shutouts.
Washington has won 11 of 12 games and its winning streak is tied for second-longest in franchise history. Alex Semin is on fire with 21 points in his last 12 games. Before tonight’s game Bruce Boudreau used words like “happy” and “motivated” to describe Semin in recent weeks. Any coincidence that his contract issues – at least for next season – were taken care of earlier this month? Who knows.
One thing we do know is that Washington is close to unbeatable at Verizon Center now. The Caps are 19-3-3 at home and have the fewest regulation losses in the NHL. A win tonight ties the third-longest home win streak in team history (8). They are also averaging 4 goals per game at home. Hard to lose with an offense that prolific. Florida better score on the power play tonight when it gets the chance. Washington is 21-1-3 when its PK keeps the opposition off the board. The Caps have won five in a row against Florida, including the first the first four this season. The Jan. 13 win was the most memorable and started the current winning streak. The Caps overcame a 4-1 deficit to win 5-4 in a shootout. Michael Neuvirth is in goal for Washington. Jose Theodore is healthy enough to serve as the backup.
