Tue, 04/03/2007 - 2:47pm

The Capitals start the last week of their season tonight at the Verizon Center in a match-up versus the Florida Panthers. The Capitals have lost their last six games coming into tonight. A win against their division foes in front of the home crowd on fan appreciation week would give the Caps some momentum heading into their final two games of the season. The Caps are 2-3-2 against Florida this season. The last time the Caps hit the ice was in Tampa on Saturday night, the Caps lost to the Lightning 5-2. Despite keeping a fast pace and staying physical against Tampa Bay for most of the game, the Caps again struggled to kill penalties. The turning point of the game came when Alexander Semin took a penalty for closing his hand on the puck; Semin grabbed the puck and threw it into the Lightning zone out of frustration. Semin was later benched for the entire third period as coach Glenn Hanlon showed disciplinary action against Semin’s poor decision. The Capitals continued their rough play throughout the game, the Caps lead the Eastern Conference in fighting majors this season and against Tampa Bay they dropped the gloves twice. Expect the Caps to set the tone early tonight with a steady dose of physical play.

The Florida Panthers are still mathematically alive in the Eastern Conference but maybe not for long. The Panthers are five points back of the final playoff spot with only three games to go. A Capitals win tonight would eliminate the Panthers from playoff contention. The Panthers are coming off a 4-3 loss in overtime to Carolina on Sunday. After the game Florida criticized Carolina’s Eric Staal for “taking dives” and “always looking for the cheesy call.” Expect the Panthers to come out juiced as this could be their last meaningful game of the season.

Tonight is the 8th and final time the Caps and Panthers play each other this season. The last time these two teams played Florida won 3-2 in OT on March 30, 2007.

Sharifi’s Fun Facts:

Olli Jokinen of the Panthers is red hot riding and eight game point streak with six goals and 11 assists during that span. He comes into this contest with 37 goals and 49 assists, and needs two goals and three assists to set new career highs.

Alex Ovechkin is five goals shy of 100 for his career and a point shy of 90 points for this season.

About the author
Kevin Sharifi is currently a student at Catholic University and can be reached at 61SHARIFI@cua.edu .

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