Around the Capitals Rink (Feb. 15) « DC Pro Sports Report

The Washington Capitals start a back to back weekend division bash tonight, facing off against the Florida Panthers tonight in Florida and facing Tampa Bay in Tamp on Saturday. In the midst of a 5 game stretch in which they play division rivals 4 times, the Capitals escaped Atlanta on Wednesday with a loss in overtime, but picking up the ever valuable standing point.
Tonight, they will face Florida likely without starting D Tom Poti, who suffered a leg injury on Wednesday. In his place will be Steve Eminger, the usual healthy scratch.Â Brent Johnson is in the net tonight.
Tarik praises Alexander Ovechkin in his latest article on Ovie’s clutch goal to gain the Caps a point and his clutch performances during the emergence of the Caps. It’s a good read.
But, my concerns like more in second and third line scoring that has grown colder. Take a look at what I mean. Tomas Fleischmann’s last goal was back on January 21st against Pittsburgh and before that you would drop way back to December 15th against Tampa Bay. Boyd Gordon score Wednesday night, but that was his first goal since January 5th against Montreal. Dave Steckel has not scored since January 9th, Matt Pettinger has not scored since December 8th. These are just some examples.
My feeling is — if the Capitals are going to make true rush for the Southeast division, they need Great 8 to keep the intensity he brings night in and night out. That’s not going to be a problem because that IS Alex Ovechkin. But, during the stretch where the capitals were climbing back into contention, the Caps were getting offense outside of Ovie as well. Outside of the first line. That seems to have grown cold and if the Caps want to stay in the race and win the Southeast, some of these guys need to re-up their play and start scoring.
Game Previews:
Capitals-Panthers Preview (USA Today)
Game #59 Washington Capitals at Florida Panthers (Joe’s Washington Hockey Blog)
NHL.com Game Preview (NHL.com)