Washington Capitals Playoffs: Top 3 takeaways in huge win over Panthers

The Washington Capitals dominated the Florida Panthers by scoring six unanswered goals in a 6-1 rout on Saturday afternoon at Capital One Arena. It was a game that was won on both sides of the ice with the offense scoring and Ilya Samsonov making every save the rest of the way after allowing the first goal.

The Caps now lead the series 2-1 against the President’s Trophy winners. It’s very unfamiliar territory. Usually the Caps are the favorites in these situations but not this year. This year they’re underdogs and showing how much they embrace that role.

Here are my top 3 takeaways from Game 3:

#3 Right where we want them

If you thought the pressure was on the Panthers after Game 1 it has doubled after the Caps humbled them in Game 3. Game 2, everything went the Panthers way except the fans wishes of them scoring 10 goals. I do feel bad for them. They just started watching hockey for the first time.

This is a series in which many pundits picked against the Caps. The only two folks at ESPN who picked them are John Buccigross and John Tortorella. That’s it. The rest had the Panthers in at least five or six. Now it’s the underdogs who have the lead and have the chance to put a handle on the series tomorrow.