SKATE SHAVINGS - News and Notes From Caps' Morning Skate

Another State Of Mind - After letting a late lead slip away in Game 4 and failing to build upon and hold a 3-0 second period lead in a Game 5 loss, the Caps are out of slack on the rope as they try to engineer an upset of the Presidents' Trophy-winning Florida Panthers in Game 6 of the series tonight. For the first time in the postseason, Washington faces elimination tonight. The Caps must win Game 6 tonight at Capital One Arena, and they've got to take Game 7 in Florida on Sunday in order to advance to the second round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"It's a race to four [wins]," says Caps center Nic Dowd. "No one has won four yet. You talk to every other team around the League, it's the same thing. You get to the playoffs with experience, with good hockey, with a good team. And same thing, that's how you get through the playoffs. It doesn't matter what the series is at now; it's a best-of-three. And no one's won four yet."
Despite trailing in the series to this point, the Caps have played well and have done a lot of good things through most of the series. They lapsed for significant stretches of Games 2 and 4 in Florida after starting both games well, and they were dented for five goals at 5-on-5 in a span of less than 30 minutes of playing time in each of those two contests.
"When you want to talk about goals against or Florida's offense," begins Caps coach Peter Laviolette, "you almost have to talk about two different ways: one when we were doing the right things, and one when we weren't doing the right things. And they certainly can make you pay quickly for your mistakes. And so I think just focusing on our game and what we have to do to be successful can help dictate our style a little bit."
Washington's penalty killing outfit has been perfect in 16 missions in the series, holding the Panthers off the board on the power play in the first five games, so those 10 Florida goals at 5-on-5 in those two stretches of two games represent more than 70 percent of Florida's 5-on-5 offense in the series. Aside from those two stretches where the Panthers got away from them like a runaway train, the Caps have defended well in the series, and they've given themselves a chance to win every game.
"It's pretty simple," says Caps defenseman John Carlson. "We've had a lot of good moments so far in the series, and I think we know what it takes on our good efforts and our good wins and all that. So we'll focus on that and have the confidence that I know we do have. We'll try to learn from our mistakes, move past it and have a good effort tonight."
Florida has outscored the Caps 14-8 at 5-on-5 in the first five games of the series, but the Caps have mitigated that by outscoring the Cats 6-0 in special teams. Only Pittsburgh (17) has scored more goals in these playoffs than the Panthers at 5-on-5, and the Caps believe they know what to do to trim Florida's scoring prowess at 5-on-5 moving forward.
"Eliminating the mistakes that we know we can eliminate in our game, and I think we've got to make them work for it a little more," says Caps defenseman John Carlson. "I think 5-on-5, we haven't been at our best. We've got to do more to force them to earn more of their chances, earn more of their looks, that sort of thing. The more that we can be down at the other end wearing them down, the easier it is to defend. I think that's the mantra and mindset that you have to have."
When the Panthers have scored on Washington at 5-on-5, the goals typically come off the rush or in transition, and they've primarily been fueled by the Caps' own mistakes in the area of puck management. The Caps have defended well in their end at 5-on-5, rarely getting hemmed in there for long stretches, and generally exiting their end cleanly and quickly. Tonight, they'll concentrate on limiting those mistakes and making better puck decisions at both bluelines.
"Yeah," agrees Carlson, "and just doing a better job in the [offensive] zone to wear them down. Obviously, we want to score every time we get the puck in their zone, but at the same time, if we can have sustained zone time and start wearing them down when they do get possession of the puck, it's a lot different looking rush than when they're fresh and we kind of make a hope play or try to force something early.
"They're really good, their forwards. They're obviously a great transition team; they push out of the zone quickly and it's tough to get gaps and all that. There's a reason they are who they are, and for where they're at in the standings. We've just got to do a better job of limiting that as much as we can."
Following a bad beat in Florida in Game 2, the Caps returned here to Capital One Arena and played their best game of the series in a 6-1 win over the Panthers in Game 3, just under a week ago. They're looking for a repeat of that scenario tonight.
"When we've done the right things, the scoreboard kind of goes in our favor," says Laviolette. "And when we get away from that, it goes against us. Certainly that's a point of emphasis for us to make sure that we continue to do the right things against this team. It's not a team that you want to feed and fuel their offense. I think just being smart with what we do can help eliminate that, and dictate our style as well."
As they head into what will hopefully not be the last elimination game they face this spring, the Caps are leaning more toward being loose than being uptight about their situation.
"From that experience and being around playoffs," says Dowd, "and in a winning organization for a lot of these players - and I've been here for a while now - it's better to be calm than it is to be uptight, but we're ready. I think 'loose' and 'driving' is something I try to talk to myself about quite a bit, and I think that's how I would characterize the mood."
"I think a lot of guys have been in this situation before, where we know we have to play a good game in order to be successful," says Laviolette. "I think guys are getting themselves ready for that."
We've Been Here Before - Four years ago when they won the Stanley Cup, the Caps found themselves coming home from Florida after losing Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final Series with Tampa Bay, needing a win in Game 6 to stave off elimination, and then obviously needing another victory in Game 7 in Tampa.
With Braden Holtby pitching consecutive shutouts in each of those two games, the Caps were able to overcome the Lightning and advance to the Cup Final against Vegas, despite losing three straight games in the series against Tampa Bay, an ultra-rare playoff occurrence. Tonight, the Caps are looking to avoid a third straight loss - one that would end their season - and they're seeking their first set of consecutive playoff victories since they opened the 2019 playoffs with successive home ice wins over Carolina.
Having had the recent experience of achieving what they hope to achieve this spring should be of use to the Capitals.
"I'd like to think so," says Caps center Lars Eller. "These kinds of games have the potential to bring out the best in us, when we've got our backs to the wall, and tonight's no different."
"I've got all the confidence in the world that we have everything we need to have to pull this off, and to win a game tonight," says Eller. "We've done it throughout stretches of games, and now we need to do it for 60 minutes tonight, and just capitalize on the chances we get and play a smart game without the puck. It's a good team. They're going to get looks, but we're going to keep it to a minimum."
Cat Tracks - With its Game 5 victory at FLA Live Arena, Florida took its first lead in a Stanley Cup Playoff series since it held a 3-2 series lead over the New Jersey Devils in the first round of the 2012 playoffs. The Devils won Game 6 of that series at home on a Travis Zajac goal in overtime, and New Jersey won Game 7 in Florida on an Adam Henrique goal in double overtime.
The Panthers are seeking their first playoff series win since 1996 when they advanced to the Stanley Cup Final in their third season of existence, only to be swept in four straight at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche. This is Florida's seventh trip to the playoffs since the last time it won a playoff series.
"I think even for us, narrow it down to the first five minutes of the first period, I think that's where our focus has to be," says Panthers interim coach Andrew Brunette. "And we get through that, and we try to get through the next five. We know they're going to be a desperate team. Kind of like last game, we have to match their desperation, and that's where the focus is."
Florida might have to match that desperation without Carter Verhaeghe, the hero of the series for the Panthers so far. Verhaeghe missed Friday's morning skate with an unspecified injury, and his presence in tonight's lineup will be a game-time decision.
"It just kind of happened [Thursday]," says Brunette. "Hopefully, he's ready to go."
Verhaeghe has five goals and 10 points in the series, and he is tied for third in playoff scoring. He has had a hand in each of Florida's last six goals in the series. He scored the game-winner in overtime in Game 4 and had two goals and three primary assists in the Panthers' 5-3 victory in Game 5.
In The Nets - Ilya Samsonov starts for the fourth straight time tonight in Game 6. In his four appearances in this series, he is 1-2 with a 2.68 GAA and a .923 save pct. Among goaltenders with 100 or more minutes in the crease in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Samsonov's 1.47 goals saved above average (in all situations) ranks sixth in the League, and well above that of his Florida counterpart Sergei Bobrovsky (-1.20), who ranks 15th on that list.
Including his three starts against Boston in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Samsonov is now 1-5 in his postseason NHL career, with a 2.83 GAA and a .912 save pct.
With consecutive victories in his last two starts, Bobrovsky is now a win away from authoring just the second playoff series win of his 12-year NHL career. He is 16-25 lifetime in the playoffs, with a 3.19 GAA and an .899 save pct.
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, 73-Sheary
90-Johansson, 19-Backstrom, 77-Oshie
24-McMichael, 20-Eller, 39-Mantha
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
1-Copley
6-Kempny
45-Jonsson-Fjallby
52-Irwin
Injured/Out
43-Wilson (lower body)
62-Hagelin (eye)
91-Snively (upper body, AHL rehab assignment)
FLORIDA
Forwards
10-Duclair 16-Barkov, 28-Giroux
11-Huberdeau, 9-Bennett, 13-Reinhart
98-Mamin, 15-Lundell, 55-Acciari
94-Lomberg, 27-Luostarinen, 70-Hornqvist
Defensemen
8-Chiarot, 5-Ekblad
42-Forsling, 52-Weegar
62-Montour, 7-Gudas
Goaltenders
72-Bobrovsky
30-Knight
Extras
3-Kierstad
18-Hagg
19-Thornton
32-Carlsson
40-Lindbohm
Injured/Out
17-Marchment (undisclosed, game-time decision)
23-Verhaeghe (undisclosed, game-time decision)
65-Nutivaara (lower body)