Washington Capitals Playoffs: Top 3 reasons they will upset Panthers
The Washington Capitals have a tall order ahead of them against the Florida Panthers. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be an upset.
The Caps will look to take down the President’s Trophy winners for the first time in franchise history. They were former members of the dissolved Southeast Division from 1998-2013. The Caps hold an all time regular season record of 67-43-9-12 against Florida.
This season the Caps went 1-1-1 and all three games were decided by one goal. The Caps lone win came on Nov. 26 at Capital One Arena in a 4-3 game featuring an Alex Ovechkin hat trick.
Here are 3 reasons the Caps can take down the Panthers.
#3 Road warriors
If there’s anything that can give the Caps an edge in this series, it’s the fact that the series begins on the road for them. And the Caps tend to play better on the road than they do at home.
The Caps finished the regular season with a 25-10-6 record, registering the most road points (56) and the highest points percentage (.683) in the NHL. That marked the third highest road point percentage (.714) in a season in franchise history.
The Caps scored 3.64 goals per game on the road which ranked sixth in the NHL.
#2 Experience
Another edge the Capitals have is playoff experience. Even though the Panthers won the President’s Trophy, that’s the only pressure they’re facing as it’s their series to lose.
Evgeny Kuznetsov even admitted that to the media after Monday’s practice:
“I’m actually a believer of the opposite. I believe the more young guys you have the less pressure it gives to the team because the other teams, they know how it felt and I always believe the opposite. The more young guys you have it’s a little bit easier for the team.”
T.J. Oshie believed that playoff experience, the joy of a Cup and the heartbreak of defeat, could help:
“We are pretty experienced in there to know that once you get to an NHL playoffs, the gap in playoffs is so much closer than in the regular season. Now, if we don’t play to our best ability and don’t play our game, they are probably going to score a lot of goals so they have that ability. But we have that ability also, if we are playing our game and playing as a team and taking care of each other and making smart puck decisions.”
A lot of people think the Caps having an old team would be a disadvantage but experience always helps.
#1 All good offenses run out of gas in the playoffs
The number one reason the Caps will upset the Panthers in round one of the Stanley Cup playoffs is the fact that one of the best offensive teams in the NHL will run out of gas. It happens to everybody, especially President’s Trophy winners.
Kuznetsov’s answer was simple when he was asked what the Caps need to do to take down the Panthers: “Score more goals.”
The Panthers led the league in goals scored at 337 and it was the first time since 1995-96 that a team averaged more than four goals per game. Four players on the Cats scored 30 or more goals. They’re led by Jonathan Huberdeau who recorded 115 points. Each line has at least one player who scored in double digits.
This Panthers team reminded me of the 2009-10 President’s Trophy winning Capitals team. They were a scoring powerhouse too until they got Halak’d. Vitek Vanecek has the chance to Halak the best offensive team in the league. The question is, will he? He was named the starter tonight for Game 1.
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And those are the top 3 reasons the Caps will take down the Panthers in round one. May the hockey god’s and bounces be in their favor. It all starts tonight at 7:30.