[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]
When the Caps last welcomed the Florida Panthers to the VC, the hosts had a simple goal in mind.
The stakes aren't quite as high this time around, of course, but the points in December count the same as the points in April (and are often easier to come by), and there are two out there for the taking tonight.
Sure, Craig "The Ogler" Anderson is on fire of late, but the Panthers - who couldn't score to begin with (thanks, in part, to a putrid power play) - are without two of their top three scorers in David Booth and Nathan Horton (neither of whom is even in the top 100 in the League in scoring), as well as Cory Stillman and Richard Zednik.
Then again, they do still have Kamil Kreps.
The Kitties give up a ton of shots, Anderson is 0-3-0/2.68/.909 lifetime against the Caps and his career save percentage is a full .038 lower than his current mark, so you do the math - dude's due for a shellacking, OvieStyle.
Incidentally, Jose Theodore is quietly (or perhaps not so quietly after Friday night's shutout) 4-1-1/2.53/.911 in his last seven games, and is entering a month in which he has a 2.48 GAA and .917 SV% over his career. If this team ever gets healthy...
Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:
Last week, Sergei Fedorov thought he'd be playing "soon." Apparently we have different definitions of that word.... Ted Leonsis was on XM204's "Hockey This Morning" yesterday, and you can hear it here.... A bunch of fresh Power Rankings, with the Caps down four spots to tenth at USAToday, down two to eleventh at Sportsnet.ca, up one to sixth at CBSSports.com, down three to fourteenth at TSN.ca, holding steady at ninth at The Hockey News and seventh at ESPN.com, and down one to seventh at SportingNews.com (where the Caps goaltending so far receives a grade of "C").... Glad we didn't lose you when the URL changed, Katie!... The Top Ten Ice Girl Groups (h/t to EMac) doesn't include your Red Rockers, but I'm sure that's only because they're not Ice Girls (either that or it's because they're not particularly attractive).
Elsewhere 'Round the Blogs:
SB Nation has added 'Yotes blog Five For Howling. Go there for all your Ken Klee-related needs.... Pension Plan Puppets is giving away Leafs crap, in case you're interested.... Speaking of SB Nation folks, make sure to go vote for Mirtle - he deserves it and he's handsome.... Finally, if you've always longed to see Puckandbooks go to town on a bunch of wieners, here's your chance.