GameDay No. 80: Lines, Betting Odds for Panthers at Capitals

The Washington Capitals continue to wind down their season and will try to snap a five-game losing streak tonight against the Florida Panthers.

Florida, of course, is in the midst of a run to the postseason having won its past five games.

This is yet another must-win game for the Panthers and it will come against a depleted Capitals team who may be without captain Alex Ovechkin.

Ovechkin did not participate in Saturday’s morning skate in northern Virginia as the team says he has an upper-body injury.

Florida, meanwhile, is rolling out the same lineup they have for the past week.

Sam Bennett skated on Saturday but remains out although Sergei Bobrovsky will return.

Not as the starter, mind you.

Alex Lyon will get his sixth consecutive start as he goes for his sixth consecutive win.

With three games left, it appears the net belongs to Lyon as long as he and the Panthers continue to win.

PANTHERS ON DECK

 FLORIDA PANTHERS AT WASHINGTON CAPITALS

• When: Saturday, 7 p.m.
• Where: Capital One Arena, Washington D.C.
• TV/Streaming: Bally Sports Florida/Sun; ESPN+
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932
• DraftKings odds — Panthers favored: Money Line (-180); Puck line (-1.5, +140); Over/Under 7 (+105/-125)
• Last season: Panthers won 2-1 (d. Capitals 4-2 in first round)
  
• This season (Florida leads 2-0): Panthers 5, Capitals 2 (Nov. 15); Panthers 6, Capitals 3 (Feb. 16)
• All-time regular season series: Washington leads 67-45-12, 9 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Monday, Toronto Maple Leafs at Florida, 7 p.m.

PROJECTED FLORIDA PANTHERS LINEUP

23 Carter Verhaeghe // 16 Sasha Barkov // 10 Anthony Duclair

27 Eetu Luostarinen // 15 Anton Lundell // 19 Matthew Tkachuk

94 Ryan Lomberg // 12 Eric Staal // 13 Sam Reinhart

21 Nick Cousins // 6 Colin White // 54 Givani Smith

42 Gus Forsling // 5 Aaron Ekblad

18 Marc Staal // 62 Brandon Montour

28 Josh Mahura // 7 Radko Gudas

34 Alex Lyon

72 Sergei Bobrovsky

Scratched: Casey Fitzgerald

Injured: Patric Hornqvist (LTIR-concussion), Sam Bennett (groin)

PROJECTED WASHINGTON CAPITALS LINEUP

8 Alex Ovechkin // 17 Dylan Strome // 43 Tom Wilson

73 Conor Sheary // 92 Evgeny Kuznetsov // 16 Craig Smith

15 Sonny Milano // 19 Nicklas Backstrom // 59 Aliaksei Protas

47 Beck Melenstyn // 26 Nic Dowd // 96 Nicolas Aube-Kubel

47 Martin Fehervary // 74 John Carlson

38 Rasmus Sandin // 3 Nick Jensen

27 Alexander Alexeyev // 52 Matt Irwin

35 Darcy Kuemper

79 Charlie Lindgren