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.