Friday, Nov. 06, 2009

Washington Capitals (8-3-4) at Florida Panthers (5-7-1), 7:30 p.m.

Since drafting Alex Ovechkin first overall in 2004, the Capitals haven't had much success when he has been unable to take the ice. They could use him tonight seeing as they are going up against a red-hot goaltender.

Washington will be without its superstar for Friday night's battle at BankAtlantic Center versus the Florida Panthers and goaltender Tomas Vokoun, who is coming off back-to-back shutout efforts.

The reigning Hart and Rocket Richard Trophy recipient, Ovechkin is considered week-to-week because of an upper-body strain he suffered in Sunday's overtime loss to Columbus. He missed just the fifth game of his career on Wednesday, third because of injury, and Washington fell to 1-4-0 without him on the ice thanks to a 3-2 loss in New Jersey.

Tyler Sloan and Tomas Fleischmann lit the lamp for the Capitals, who lost in regulation for the first time since October 10th. Washington had notched a point in each of its previous nine outings (6-0-3) but has lost three straight.

Semyon Varlamov stopped 29 of the 32 shots he faced as Washington fell to 4-2-1 on the road this season.

"Guys didn't come to play. Whether they're feeling sorry for themselves cause Alex is not in, I don't know," said Washington head coach Bruce Boudreau. "This isn't a one-man team, but those guys have got to understand that."

Now the Capitals will have to deal with Vokoun, who has stopped all 66 shots that have been fired his way in the last two games. He followed up a 4-0 blanking of St. Louis on Saturday with Wednesday's 3-0 triumph against Carolina.

Vokoun made 32 saves versus the Hurricanes, including 21 in the first period, en route to his 33rd career shutout.

"We were sluggish (at the start), but we survived it," said Vokoun, who has a scoreless streak of 142 minutes and nine seconds.

Steven Reinprecht, Cory Stillman and Bryan Allen each scored in the third period for the Panthers, who have won three straight overall after a 2-7-1 start. They haven't won four straight since a seven-game run from March 2-16, 2008 and are 2-4 at home this year.

Defenseman Bryan McCabe is set to skate in his 1,000th career game tonight. The 34-year-old is in his second season with the Panthers and has 131 goals, 332 assists and 463 points in a career that has featured stops in Florida, Toronto, Chicago, Vancouver and New York with the Islanders, who took him in the second round of the 1993 draft.

"I've been very fortunate to last this long and be able to compete every night," said McCabe on Florida's Web site. "I was very fortunate to learn at a young age, I think by 25 I had figured it out, what it took to be a professional on and off the ice."

The Panthers and Capitals have split their last 14 meetings, including six last season, but Washington has won four of its last six in Florida.

Tonight is the opener of a home-and-home set, as the Capitals host the Panthers on Saturday.