It is hard to believe that the Washington Capitals and Florida Panthers, who were rivals in the category from 1993-2013, are now only facing each other for the first time in the Stanley Cup playoffs. It has not been a great opportunity since the Panthers entered the playoffs just eight times in 28 seasons. This is exactly the opposite of Alexander Ovechkin’s Capitals, who have been a playoff if not a candidate for the last 14 seasons. However, it is Florida that enters this match as the heavy favorite. Jonathan Huberdeau broke out with 115 points, while Aleksander Barkov made it his own with 88 points. Anthony Duclair (30 goals) and Carter Verhaeghe (24) proved that 2020-21 was no accident and the team made a huge bottom-line performance in rookie Anton Lundell and late bloomer Mason Marchment. The deadly Florida offensive team was then completed in the trade deadline by Claude Zirou, who scored 23 points in 20 games. Defensively, the Panthers made remarkable gains. Aaron Ekblad flirted with Norris Trophy until an injury ruled him out. Gustav Forsling and MacKenzie Weegar, who were big surprises last season, thrived this year as well. The big difference was at the end of the depth table, as veterans Anton Stralman and Keith Yandle were replaced by a battalion of craftsmen who did not sink the team. The Capitals, meanwhile, look like a shell of the team that won the 2018 Stanley Cup. They finished in 10th place in the league in goals – good production, but still far from the beast of firepower that gave nightmares to the goalkeepers. Especially power play, which ranks 21st with goals every 60 minutes, has dropped a lot. Defensively, the Capitals were around the league average, while coach Peter Laviolette is constantly alternating between goalkeepers Vitek Vanecek and Ilya Samsonov, essentially begging one of them to finally win the top spot. They both had some good times throughout the season, but overall they were below average. However, the capitals have two narrow paths to victory. Their power play (and attack) was greatly hampered because key players such as Nicklas Backstrom, TJ Oshie and Anthony Mantha lost almost half of the season. And while Sergei Bobrovsky has been much better this season than the previous two, he is still mortal in ways he did not do during his campaign in Vizina. If the Capitals’s top weapons can be warmed up at the right time and / or the Florida goldsmith collapses, both easy fantasy scenarios could possibly steal this series. Otherwise, the Panthers will have to win a playoff series for the first time since 1996. Prediction: Panthers in five
– Adam Herman
