Scouting Report
The Florida Panthers, who have earned at least one point in 10 of their past 11 games, will play host to the Washington Capitals on Thursday night in Sunrise, Fla.
Washington, which leads the NHL with 25 points, is off to an even better start than the Panthers. The Capitals have won four straight games and eight of nine, with the only loss coming in overtime.
Since winning their first Stanley Cup title in 2018 -- and even despite a first-round playoff loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in 2019 -- the Capitals have kept together their core, including superstar winger Alex Ovechkin, goalie Braden Holtby, centers Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom and defenseman John Carlson.