The Capitals have headed down to sunny Florida to face off against the Panthers tonight before they take some time off for the All-Star break.
While some people think that the Capitals haven’t been looking too hot, the Panthers are actually not doing well. Not only have they lost six of their last eight games, but their two top goaltenders are injured. So now some stranger named Harri Sateri is in net and I can’t stop saying tonight is going to be a “Harri Sateri Parti” (all pronounced to rhyme). But they do have two things going for them. First, their shot attempt percentage is slightly higher than the Capitals. And second, they are based near Miami. There are worse places to be located in Florida.
The game starts at 7:30 PM, just enough to throw you off. You can meet Pat Holden back here for the recap.
 |
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|---|---|---|
| Record | 19-21-6 | 28-15-5 |
| Shot Attempt % | 48.6% | 48.3% |
| PDO | 98.8 | 101.5 |
| Power Play | 16.4% | 19.5% |
| Penalty Kill | 79.9% | 79.8% |
Projected Lines
From sweet, sweet Jesse Dougherty at the Washington Post. Apparently, it looked like Chiasson and Vrana were rotating during rushes, so we might have a lil’ change coming up. For now, we have the following from morning skate:
Ovechkin – Kuznetsov – Wilson
Burakovsky – Backstrom – Oshie
Stephenson – Eller – Connolly
Chiasson/Vrana – Beagle – DSP
Djoos – Carlson
Orlov – Niskanen
Orpik – Bowey
Holtby
Expansion, Schmex-schmanion
The 1974-75 expansion Capitals, who went 8-67-5, were the opposite of the Golden Knights. https://t.co/ELgTxpHnpl
— Kevin Allen (@ByKevinAllen) January 25, 2018
Yeah yeah yeah, it was definitely a different draft then but still……woof.
Storylines
- The Vegas Golden Knights were in the league’s top spot the other day. They aren’t at the moment because Tampa Bay is 1 point ahead with……….wait for it……….69 points nice.
- Look at these silly advertisements for the All-Star Game. They feature Braden Holtby and Alex Ovechkin.
- Something super cool happened last night. PK Subban went on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. I genuinely cannot think of a time an NHL player was on a show like this.
- Can’t remember what happened last game? Well, the Capitals lost, but that’s okay! They didn’t play too terribly!
- The latest Snapshot was taken to the airwaves-ish. Pete and Pat chatted about all kinds of stuff including how to prepare meat and TJ Oshie.
- Don’t get us wrong, the Caps are not doing terribly…but I think we can all agree something is a bit off. What is it? Well, here’s a hint: the problem isn’t on offense.
- Alex Ovechkin had a mini practice concerning his shootout. When we say “mini practice” we really mean “mini practice”.
- The All-Star Break is happening soon and TJ Oshie is planning a lil’ vacay with old teammate Karl Alzner! The kids are going to get back together, there are going to be cute instagram posts, etc. The meshing of two perfect families #Oshzner.
- 30 years ago, Ice Hockey was released on Nintendo. The truest #TBT there ever was.
- Matthew Barzal is new. He is an Islander. He is not too bad.
- Marcus Johansson took quite the elbow to the face from Brad Marchand last night. It was brutal and Marchand is now suspended for five games. Boston is the worst. Also, water is wet.
No Adults Allowed
We all know how the Vegas Golden Knights are kind of a big deal right now. They have pretty good ticket sales, they’re not doing too shabby in the standings, etc. Now, they’re making waves in a whole different way.
According to VGK beat writer Steve Carp, the big autograph-craving crowds are becoming a bit of a safety hazard, especially in parking lots. So, what did the Golden Knights do to try and resolve the issue? They’ve decided to say, “hey, you can only get autographs inside the rink and in a designated area by the player benches.” They have also put an age restriction on who can have the access to the area. You have to be 14-years-old, at the most.
The report from Carp at the Las Vegas Review-Journal said things were very out of hand, especially with professional autograph collectors (this is Vegas after all). After five practices, apparently the new policy is working a whole lot better.
It will be interesting to see what happens, mainly with parents making their kids go get a million autographs…but I think I’m super for this.
Full RMNB Coverage of Caps at Panthers
Headline image: Patrick McDermott
