Game #82 Washington Capitals vs. Florida Panthers

Where: Verizon Center, Washington, DC

When: April 5, 2008, 7:00 PM

History:
Caps Record on this Date: 7-4-1-1
Caps Game 82 Record: 6-6-0-1
All-Time vs. FLA: 35-29-9-6
All-Time Home Record vs. FLA: 18-11-5-5
Last Season vs. FLA: 3-3-2
Last Meeting: 3/28/08, WAS 3 FLA 0

This Year:
WAS Record: 42-31-8
Standings Points: 92
Division Rank: 1st
Conference Rank: 9^th
Last Game: 4/1/08, WAS 4 CAR 1
Streak: Won 5

FLA Record: 38-34-9
Standings Points: 83
Division Rank: 3rd
Conference Rank: 11^th
Last Game: 4/2/08, TAM 2 CAR 6
Streak: Won 1

Game 1: 11/15/07, WAS 1 FLA 2
Game 2: 11/19/07, WAS 3 FLA 4
Game 3: 11/28/07, WAS 1 FLA 2 (OT-SO)
Game 4: 12/1/07, WAS 2 FLA 1
Game 5: 1/19/08, WAS 5 FLA 3
Game 6: 2/16/08, WAS 2 FLA 4
Game 7: 3/28/08, WAS 3 FLA 0

Probable Line-Ups:
Washington
Forward Line 1: 8 OVECHKIN, 19 BACKSTROM, 25 KOZLOV
Forward Line 2: 24 COOKE, 91 FEDOROV, 28 SEMIN
Forward Line 3: 43 FLEISCHMANN, 21 LAICH, 14 FEHR
Forward Line 4: 87 BRASHEAR, 15 GORDON, 10 BRADLEY
Defense Pair 1: 23 JURCINA, 52 GREEN
Defense Pair 2: 55 SCHULTZ, 3 POTI
Defense Pair 3: 4 ERSKINE, 44 EMINGER
Goalie: 33 HUET
Back-up Goalie: 37 KOLZIG

Florida
Forward Line 1: 10 BOOTH, 53 MCLEAN, 16 HORTON
Forward Line 2: 85 OLESZ, 9 WEISS, 14 DVORAK
Forward Line 3: 18 PELTONEN, 12 JOKINEN, 15 STUMPEL
Forward Line 4: 11 CAMPBELL, 54 KREPS, 33 BELAK
Defense Pair 1: 4 BOUWMEESTAR, 22 CULLIMORE
Defense Pair 2: 3 SKRASTINS, 6 JOHANSSON
Defense Pair 3: 21 MURPHY, 5 ALLEN
Goalie: 29 VOKOUN
Back-up Goalie: 31 ANDERSON

Injuries:
Washington – 17 CLARK (groin) DTD, 92 NYLANDER (shoulder) IR, 2 POTHIER (head) IR, 39 STECKEL (broken finger) DTD, 26 MORRISONN (upper body) DTD
Florida – 20 ZEDNIK (neck laceration) IR, 17 MURRAY (shoulder) IR, 26 VAN RYN (wrist) IR, 27 WELCH (shoulder) IR

Caps Milestones:
Viktor Kozlov needs 4 points to reach 500 in his career.
John Erskine needs 1 PIM to reach 500 in his career.

Preview:
The Capitals welcome Florida to the Phone Booth for the final game of the regular season. The Panthers have put Washington in very good position after defeating Carolina Friday night. With a win or overtime loss the Capitals will win the SE Division and secure the #3 seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. The Caps are winners of 6 consecutive games and 10 of their last 11. This is no time for a letdown. The Caps need another inspired performance to propel them into the extra season. Look for the Caps to come out strong and try to take advantage of a tired Florida club. The whole season comes down to this game.

Joe’s prediction: Caps 5 FLA 2
The Wife thinks it might be a tight game: Caps 4 FLA 3

Official Preview