Destiny's Team?

The Panthers did hang on last night to beat the Hurricanes 4-3 putting the playoff fate of the Caps in their own hands. The Panthers never quit last night and literally survived an continuous onslaught from Carolina. Tomas Vokoun left after stopping 17 of 18 shots in the first period with back spasms. Craig Anderson stepped in and played a wonderful game for the next forty minutes. Anderson has played very well for Florida this year and if my memory is right had a nice stretch where he had two shutouts and held the opposing teams to a long scoreless streak. I would expect to see Anderson between the pipes tonight.

The Caps hold their own destiny in their hands tonight. They simply have to earn a point to lock down the third seed in the playoffs and the home ice advantage for at least the first round. If the Caps lose in regulation, they can start making tees times for tomorrow. It's that simple.

The Caps have the advantage of being at home to get the match ups they want and playing a team that should be dog tired after last night's game and travel. The Caps will need to come out strong and never let up. All of their games against the Panthers this year have been close contests and I expect tonight will be no different. The Panthers played extremely hard last night and should have some life left in their legs after their victory. Anderson did look exhausted at the end of the game. Perhaps he will not be as sharp early on.

It is hard to believe the Caps are in this position heading into tonight. They were the worst team (record wise) in the NHL at Thanksgiving and now stand on the verge of winning the Southeast Division title and the third seed in the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. Gabby Gabby, Hey!