Washington Capitals Playoffs: Top 3 keys to victory over Panthers

Tonight the Washington Capitals will look to go up 3-1 on the Florida Panthers in a pivotal Game 4 at Capital One Arena. The Capitals dominated in Game 3 with a 6-1 win and now the pressure is on the Panthers.

Six different players scored for the Caps that Saturday afternoon, recording their largest margin of victory in a playoff game since defeating the Carolina Hurricanes 6-0 in Game 5 on April 20, 2019.

The Capitals own a record of 24-24 in Game 4s, 11-8 at home, and 12-10 when leading 2-1 in the series. Alex Ovechkin leads the Caps with 21 points with 11 goals and 10 assists in 21 career Game 4s.

Here are the top 3 keys to a Game 4 victory:

#3 Ilya Samsonov and the defense in front of him

This may come as no surprise but after his Game 3 performance and even his Game 2 relief effort, Ilya Samsonov will once again get the nod in net for Game 4. He stopped 29 of 30 shots he faced in Game 3 to earn his first career playoff win (1-3-0).

Samsonov became the 17th goaltender in franchise history to earn a postseason victory and the eighth originally drafted by Washington. After allowing the game opening goal, Samsonov recorded 28 consecutive saves including all 21 in the final 40 minutes of play. If Samsonov is on his game once again tonight and the defense plays lock down, the Panthers are in big trouble.