The Florida Panthers travel to take on the Washington Capitals with an overall record of 58-18, placing them 1st in the Atlantic. On the season, the Panthers are an above .500 team in their 41 road games, posting a record of 24-11-6. Heading into the game, Florida has played well against Eastern Conference opponents, sitting at 37-10. The Washington Capitals host the Florida Panthers with an overall record of 44-26, placing them 4th in the Metropolitan. On the season, the Capitals have played well in their 41 home games, posting a record of 19-16-6. Heading into the game, Washington has also been good against Eastern Conference opponents, sitting at 29-16. The puck drops at 1pm EST.
Florida Is Hoping To Go Up 2-1 Against Washington
The Panthers come into this game looking for a repeat performance of game 2, in which they defeated Washington by a score of 5-1. In the game, the team had 5 different players find the net. Aleksander Barkov led the team with 2 overall points, picking up 1 goal and 1 assist.
📍 Washington, DC#TimeToHunt pic.twitter.com/WlEDYO4Vig
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) May 6, 2022
In 5 on 5 situations, the Florida Panthers have a shooting percentage of 8.5%, placing them above the league average. Their shooting efficiency is a key reason for their offensive success as they are also generating 5 on 5 scoring chances at an above-average rate. Based on the quality of their shot attempts, advanced metrics show the Panthers should have at least 5.2 more goals on their total. On the season, their high danger scoring chance figure of 8.29 per game compares favorably to other NHL Teams. Throughout the season, the Panthers have benefited from strong goalie play, as they have a save percentage of 91.8%. However, where the unit has been even better is in high-danger situations, as their save rate ranks 5th in the NHL.
Washington Looks To Take Back The Series Lead
The Capitals will look to pick up the win as the series shifts to Washington for game 3. However, they will need to bounce back from a 4 goal loss to Florida. In the contest, Vitek Vanecek gave up all 5 goals, posting a save percentage of just 74%.
CAPS TODAY: The Capitals were 7-4-1 in 12 games following losses by at least three goals this season. Evgeny Kuznetsov led the Capitals with 14 points (2g, 12a) in 12 games. More info on the #Caps and Caps Clips at https://t.co/HecIC0ECg1 pic.twitter.com/gLw1c1fpmU
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) May 7, 2022
In 5 on 5 situations, the Washington Capitals have a shooting percentage of 8.3%, placing them above the league average. Their shooting efficiency is a key reason for their offensive success as they are also generating 5 on 5 scoring chances at an above-average rate. According to advanced metrics tracking the quality of a team's shots, the Capitals have 3.8 fewer goals than expected. For the year, the team is averaging 6.48 high danger scoring chances per game. For the year, the Capitals’ goalies have posted the 16th rated save percentage at 91.66%. However, when opponents have generated quality shots, the unit's performance has dropped to 21st.
Notable Trends
- Capitals are 2-7 in their last 9 Conference Quarterfinals games.
- Capitals are 1-4 in their last 5 home games following a road trip of 7 or more days.
- Panthers are 5-0 in their last 5 when their opponent allows 5 goals or more in their previous game.
- Panthers are 23-6 in their last 29 Saturday games.