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Washington Capitals Take on Panthers Monday Night in Final Road Game

By Michael Marzzacco

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 09: Tom Wilson #43 of the Washington Capitals battles for the puck against Jonathan Huberdeau #11 and Keith Yandle #3 of the Florida Panthers in the first period at Capital One Arena on February 9, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 09: Tom Wilson #43 of the Washington Capitals battles for the puck against Jonathan Huberdeau #11 and Keith Yandle #3 of the Florida Panthers in the first period at Capital One Arena on February 9, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The Washington Capitals wrap up their regular season road schedule on Monday night against the Florida Panthers. Only three more games to go until the playoffs.

The Washington Capitals take on the Florida Panthers in the third and final meeting this season. It’ll be the first and only time the teams meet in the sunshine state. The Capitals have dropped both meetings to the Panthers in D.C. this season, one in a shootout and the other in overtime which was their most recent meeting on February 9. The Capitals come into Monday’s game with a 24-14-2 record on the road.

With a 47-24-8 record and 102 points, the Capitals are three points head of the New York Islanders for first place in the Metropolitan Division who are also in action Monday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Capitals can clinch the division tonight with a win of any kind Monday night against the Panthers and a regulation loss by the Islanders. After just beating the Tampa Bay Lightning the other night, the Capitals will be determined to put the final nail in the coffin to clinch the Metro Division.

The Panthers (35-32-12, 82 points) are coming off a 4-1 win over the Boston Bruins on Saturday. They will not make the playoffs but they’ll be going for a season sweep against the defending Stanley Cup champs. This is definitely an opponent the Capitals can’t take lightly.

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But this is also a different Capitals team than the ones that met the Panthers in October and February. The former was just getting hit with the early stages of a Stanley Cup hangover. The team in February was just before the trade deadline, before the acquisitions of Nick Jensen and Carl Hagelin that have helped the Capitals play their best hockey since June.

The Capitals will return home after Monday’s game to wrap up the regular season with two games. First up will be the Montreal Canadiens followed by what could be a very important Metropolitan Division matchup against the New York Islanders. The Capitals hope to get a win tonight so that regular season finale doesn’t come down to deciding who will win the Metro Division.

CAPS PROJECTED LINEUP

Here were the lines from morning skate:

Forwards
Ovehckin-Backstrom-Wilson
Hagelin-Kuznetsov-Oshie
Vrana-Eller-Connolly
Burakovsky-Dowd-Stephenson
Defense
Niskanen-Orlov
Djoos-Carlson
Jensen-Orpik

Pheonix Copley will get the start in goal for the Capitals. Copley carries a 16-5-3 record with a 2.88 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage. Copley has won his last six games, stopping a combined 168-of-184 shots for a .913 save percentage in that stretch. Copley’s last start came on March 19 in New Jersey where he stopped 20 of the 21 shots he faced for a .952 save percentage.

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Puck drop is at 7 p.m. and you can catch the game on NBC Sports Washington.

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