Caps Briefing: Opposite Day
Before last night the Florida Panthers had beaten the Capitals five straight times. In those five meetings, the Panthers were struggling to make the playoffs. Last night was Florida's first game since their elimination from playoff contention, and their lack of motivation showed from the start.
The Capitals, possibly by accident, capitalized on their lackadaisical opposition to claim a meaningless victory over their fellow non-competitors. Alexander Ovechkin scored his forty-fourth goal of the season on an open one-timer from the slot, as the four Panthers surrounding him made no move to stop him. Olaf Kolzig stopped all twenty-seven Florida shots for his first shutout of the season. Kolzig's determination to win even after hope for the playoffs has faded is one of the reasons he has been nominated for this year's Masterson trophy, which honors sportsmanship. It's also a reason he won't start tonight.
Unfortunately, the win moves the Capitals into to sole possession of twenty-seventh place, which moves them down to fourth most likely to pick first overall in this summer's draft (decided by a weighted lottery, where one winner moves up three spaces). Of course, twenty-eighth place Los Angeles plays twenty-ninth place Phoenix tonight and again on Friday. If Los Angeles pick up three points in those two games (the NHL gives teams two points for a win, and one point for losing in overtime or by shootout), the Capitals can still fall back to twenty-eighth place.
Photograph of what the Caps will start practicing on Sunday by Flickr user Rory
Last night's loss gave Florida some insurance on a bottom-ten finish. More importantly, they prevented the Capitals from falling down past both Phoenix and LA this week. Since the Capitals and Panthers play each other eight times per season, the Cats had an interest in seeing the Caps succeed last night, in order to see them fail in the future.
Tonight's opponent, Atlanta, also play in the Southeast Division and face the Caps disproportionately often. Atlanta, however, are in the playoffs and competing to secure home ice advantage. They currently qualify for home ice by having the best record in the Southeast, but Tampa Bay are only one point behind them for that distinction, so Atlanta should play hard and try to win tonight.
Saturday the Capitals close out the season at home against Buffalo. The Sabres are neck and neck with Detroit for the best record in the league, and are certainly going to play hard. The Capitals, for their part, have given each recent home game an extra effort. Despite the draft pick implications of a win in the closing game, they would love to be remembered as the reason the Sabres didn't finish first.