SKATE SHAVINGS - News and Notes From Caps' Morning Skate

Take Five -Four different first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series played their Game 5 on Tuesday night, and all four sets were even at 2-2 at the outset of the evening. By night's end, only one of the four road teams emerged victorious and woke up this morning with a 3-2 series lead. That was the Los Angeles Kings, who lost a late two-goal lead in the third, but they rallied to win on Adrian Kempe's goal early in overtime.

Tonight at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Fla., the Caps will aim to join the Kings in the Game 5 road victory club. The Caps have yet to trail in this series, but as was the case heading into Game 3 in Washington, they're looking to bounce back from an uneven outing in Game 4.
"We had the lead late in that game, and it's one we wanted to close out," says Caps winger Conor Sheary. "But at the end of the day, it's a 2-2 series now. It's a three-game series now, and we're just taking them one game at a time, trying to take one on the road tonight and then focus on what's next after that. We can't worry too much about what happened last game, it's about moving forward."
Lean Forward - Coming off a tough overtime loss in Game 4 of the series at home, the Caps will be primarily focused on playing with the puck more in Wednesday's Game 5. That means making good decisions with it at both bluelines, exiting their own end swiftly and efficiently as a group and with proper support, and getting pucks behind the Florida defense and establishing a forecheck that can lead to offense, that can erode the Panthers' blueline corps, and that can enable the Caps to spend some sustained time at that end of the rink.
"We've got to get onto our forecheck and increase our [offensive] zone time," says Sheary, "because I don't think it's been high enough the last few games. It's something that we're aware of and we'll work on tonight, and hopefully we'll be better at that."
Although they never trailed in Game 4, they didn't do much in the way of testing Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky or in making his night difficult or uncomfortable. Both teams had nearly the same amount of power play time, but at night's end, the Panthers owned a lopsided 32-16 advantage in shots on net and a 73-37 bulge in shot attempts for the game.
"We have to do everything better," says Caps center Evgeny Kuznetsov. "All the chances we create, it starts from how we break the puck out. We support there and we support everywhere so we can pass the puck. Overall, we have to support each other better. And if we can support each other better, then I think we're going to have some pretty good looks."
The Panthers were the NHL's best puck possession team during the regular season, so this is no surprise. The Caps are pleased with their overall team defense of the Cats' powerful attack to this point of the series, but they are also well aware of their need to be much more assertive offensively tonight in Game 5.
The onus for generating that offensive spark falls throughout the lineup, not just upon the team's top six forwards.
"It's more of a team thing," says Sheary. "I think our line can be better offensively, we can get pucks behind them. I think you hear that all across the League at this time of year. But when you can establish a forecheck and wear teams down, I think that's when you can be most effective. Being in that third-line role, I think a lot of times if you get a matchup against a top line and you make them play defense, it's a good way to do it. So we'll take responsibility for that and try to be better and see if we can maybe help the team with some offense, too."
Cat Tracks -These two teams have traded wins to this point in the series. The Caps would be more than fine with that going forward; it's the Panthers that are going to need to win two straight at some point if they're going to win the series, and they have a chance to do that tonight.
"It was a big win for our team," says Panthers' defenseman Gustav Forsling of Game 4. "I think we played a solid road game. I think we had the puck a lot more than the game before, so that's how we want to play."
"After a big loss or a big win, you've got to turn the page," says Panthers forward Claude Giroux. "Obviously you want to take a little bit of the momentum that we had at the end of the last game and I think last game was probably one of our best games overall, in being able to play well in front of [Bobrovsky]. We've just got to keep that mindset."
In The Nets - Coming into the 2022 playoffs, the Caps knew they would need one or both of their goaltenders to emerge as a steady and consistent presence in the crease, if they were to have any hope of upsetting the League's best regular season team. To this point of the series, they've had excellent and mostly consistent goaltending. With the series now down to a best-of-three, the Caps will need that to continue.
When the Caps left here after Game 2, their goaltending situation was a bit in flux. Following a strong Game 1 performance and a victory in the opener, Vitek Vanecek was pulled after yielding five goals on 19 shots in Game 2. Ilya Samsonov stepped in for the third period of that game, and the final frame of Game 2 might have been Washington's worst of the dozen full periods played to this point of the series.
Even with a subpar performance in front of him, Samsonov stopped all 17 shots he faced in the third period that night, starting with a stop on Panthers' captain Sasha Barkov in a 1-on-1 situation in tight, early in the period. That performance earned Samsonov the start in net for Game 3, and he has now turned in his best pair of consecutive starts since mid-November, limiting the League's top offense to just four goals over a span of seven plus periods.
Tonight, the Caps need more of the same from Samsonov, who seems to have drawn some confidence from the show of support he received from the capacity crowds at Capital One Arena in the last two games. Fans chanted his name in the aftermath of a number of excellent saves he made in those games, and he appears to be heartened by their support.
"I feel like our goalies have been thrown under the bus for a long time, and don't get a lot of support," says Kuznetsov. "And that support from the fans means a lot. Goalies have to be mentally strong and they have to feel support. And when people are bitching about them all the time, of course they listen to it. And when they cheered for Sammy, it means a lot to him and to us, too. Because for us it's very important for the goalie to be mentally sharp and be excited and be into the game, and to know that it's not only the team that supports them.
"Nobody is bitching on the team. We know they are good goalies and we always support them, but in terms of fans and media, it's very important when people say that they play good because it's very important for them.
Remember, when Samsonov made his NHL playoff debut last season, Washington's home ice crowds were still severely limited due to COVID-19 restrictions. Kuznetsov believes the fans' display of support at home over the weekend has made a difference in Samsonov's mindset.
"Yeah, yeah, for sure," says Kuznetsov. "You can tell with goalies. He feels much [more] comfortable. He has added the joy to his game, and that's the coolest, right? In any game when fans support you, it gives you little positive goosebumps. And that's why we have fans. We have one of the best fan bases, and when they support like that, it's unbelievable."
In three games (two starts) in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Samsonov is 1-1 with a 1.66 GAA and a .949 save pct. He ranks third in the League in save pct. and fourth in GAA in these playoffs, among goaltenders who have at least one start.
With Monday's Game 4 victory, Bobrovsky has now earned two postseason victories for the first time in his three playoff forays as a member of the Panthers. In four starts in the playoffs this spring, he is 2-2 with a 2.72 GAA and a .900 save pct.
"He's playing well right now," says Giroux. "Every night that we've played so far in the playoffs, he has given us a chance to win. That's what you want from your goaltender, and he has made some big saves for us - a couple of breakaways and 2-on-1s - the kind of saves that get the guys going."
All Lined Up - Here's how we expect the Caps and Panthers to look for Wednesday night's Game 5 of their opening round Stanley Cup Playoff series at FLA Live Arena:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 92-Kuznetsov, 77-Oshie
90-Johansson, 19-Backstrom, 39-Mantha
24-McMichael, 20-Eller, 73-Sheary
22-Larsson, 26-Dowd, 21-Hathaway
Defensemen
42-Fehervary, 74-Carlson
9-Orlov, 3-Jensen
57-van Riemsdyk, 2-Schultz
Goaltenders
30-Samsonov
41-Vanecek
Extras
6-Kempny
31-Shepard
45-Jonsson-Fjallby
52-Irwin
Injured/Out
43-Wilson (lower body)
62-Hagelin (eye)
91-Snively (upper body, AHL rehab assignment)
FLORIDA
Forwards
23-Verhaeghe, 16-Barkov, 10-Duclair
11-Huberdeau, 9-Bennett, 28-Giroux
98-Mamin, 15-Lundell, 13-Reinhart
55-Acciari, 27-Luostarinen, 70-Hornqvist
Defensemen
8-Chiarot, 5-Ekblad
42-Forsling, 52-Weegar
7-Gudas, 62-Montour
Goaltenders
72-Bobrovsky
30-Knight
Extras
3-Kierstad
18-Hagg
19-Thornton
32-Carlsson
40-Lindbohm
94-Lomberg
Injured/Out
17-Marchment (undisclosed, game-time decision)
65-Nutivaara (lower body)