All-Star Weekend has come and gone, celebrating new folk hero and all-around good guy John Scott. Now, its back to business, this time in the Nation’s capital on national TV! Its a meeting of the two first place teams in the Eastern Conference beneath the bright lights. Here is to the Panthers making it happen again.
The Numbers
[table id=TS02G50 /] [table id=IS02G50 /] [table id=GM02G50 /]* – Stats are courtesy of War-on-Ice.com, Puckalytics.com and Hockey-Reference.com
Projected Lineups
[table id=PF02G47 /] [table id=PD02G48 /] [table id=PG02G33 /] [table id=OF02G50 /] [table id=OD02G50 /] [table id=OG02G50 /]The Hat Trick
What Will It Take?: Yesterday, I waxed positively about where the Panthers currently sit. Its hard not to when the Panthers playoff probability is as high as it is. A slightly different take: point count. The Panthers possess 63 points at the top of the Atlantic, with 33 games remaining on the schedule. A flat .500 performance by the Panthers down the stretch would place them at 96 points, which should be good enough to make the playoffs. That mark would have done it last season, and Pittsburgh, the second Wild Card, is on a 94 point pace at the moment. However, even if the Panthers do regress, I do not feel they will fall that hard if all is well. I still feel somewhere between 99 and 102 points is where they end up. The point though is if you are excited about this team, you have plenty of reasons.
East Coast Clash, Nationwide: Tonight is the Panthers first and only appearance on national television during the regular season. It is a doozy too, with this representing a clash of first place teams in the Eastern Conference. The last time the Panthers faced another first place Eastern Conference team while in first place themselves this late in the season was on March 15, 2012. The Panthers, who led the Southeast Division, took on the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins, who led the Atlantic Division. The Panthers would rout the Bruins 6-2, on the strength of goals by six different Panthers, and a three assist performance from Brian Campbell. The win increased the Panthers division lead to three points over Washington.
Ovechkin Suspended Resting: If you haven’t heard, Alexander Ovechkin will watch his team face the Panthers in the press box tonight. He is serving a league mandated one-game suspension for missing the NHL All-Star Game, due to a lower-body injury. You could take this any number of ways. It can be a commentary on the inanity of the All-Star Game. It could be a complaint about of star players not showing up to league events. It could be viewed as a prudent move with a bigger goal in mind as well. If Ovechkin is truly hurt, then the recuperation time is well worth it, including the one game suspension. With the Capitals up 11 points on the Panthers for first in the Eastern Conference, and up 15 points on the New York Rangers for first in the Metropolitan Division, there is no better time to take some maintenance time. His team’s place in the playoff picture is very much stable, and taking time to rest before the stretch run of the season could pay dividends come April.
However, do not sleep on the Capitals just because Ovechkin is out. They have plenty of dangerous players in the lineup. The most notable player might be Evgeny Kuznetsov, who was just named First Star for the month of January. Kuznetsov had a monster month, potting 16 points (4-12) in just 10 games. In fact, he leads the Capitals with 49 points on the season. Nicklas Backstrom joins him in the 40+ point club at 45. The nearest Panther to that mark is Jonathan Huberdeau at 34.
Closing Thoughts
#CatsForACause donations are appreciated as always. I will be making good on my January pledge during pre-game, so stay tuned to the Twitter account for an update!
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
