Capitals in Florida for Game 1 of Playoffs

The Washington Capitals open the first round of the playoffs in Florida as the No. 6 seed in the Wales Conference. Washington finished the year at 37-33-12. The No. 3 Panthers were 50-28-4.

Washington finished the year on a 20-7-4 run thanks in large part to the excellent play of Zigmund Palffy. The dynamic winger led the club with 29 goals and 51 assists. First-line center Patrick Marleau added 29 goals and 39 assists, while late acquisition David Vyborny recorded 31 goals and 33 assists. In 10 games with the Caps, Vyborny had five goals and two assists. Mikael Renberg contributed 24 goals and 37 assists on the right side. Anson Carter anchored the second line winger with 57 points, and youngster Frantisek Lukes chipped in with 25 goals and 28 assists.

On defense Rob Blake had a strong year with nine goals and 38 assists. Bryan Berard added 13 goals and 26 assists, while Dan Boyle earned 33 points. Deadline-day acquisition Frantisek Kaberle had seven goals and 38 assists for Boston. Kaberle should play on the second defensive pairing.

In goal Manny Legace was 30-28-8 with a 3.12 GAA and .884 save percentage. Peter Skudra also played well at 6-5-4 with a 2.90 GAA and .896 save percentage.

Florida earned the second best record in the Wales Conference at 50-28-4. Petr Bondra led the club with 27 goals and 72 assists. Ivan Novoseltsev added 33 goals and 59 assists, while Owen Nolan had 40 goals and 48 assists. Stephen Weiss contributed 71 points, and Patrik Stefan added 66.

On the blue line, Mike Rathje was excellent with 14 goals and 35 assists. Sean Hill added seven goals and 36 assists, and Kim Johnsson netted 12 goals with 28 assists.

Between the pipes, Roberto Luongo had a great year with a 35-19-3 record, 2.82 GAA and .892 save percentage. Jamie Storr was 14-6-1 with a 3.16 GAA and .877 save percentage.

Florida won the regular-season series 2-1-1. The Panthers won 5-2 and 4-3 in Washington. The Capitals claimed a 5-3 decision in Florida, and the clubs tied 4-4 in the second game in Florida.