FHN Today: Florida Panthers back home in Sunrise

SUNRISE — No team in the NHL was better on home ice than the Florida Panthers were this regular season.

On the flip side of things, no team in the league was better on road ice than the Washington Capitals were.

Should make for an interesting Game 5, eh?

Well, it should be another exciting game tonight regardless of what teams did in the regular season. But the Capitals have certainly found ways to frustrate the Panthers although perhaps Monday’s win meant a breakthrough for Florida.

We shall see soon enough.

PANTHERLAND

The Panthers not only got a win to tie up the series on Monday night, but they may have taken a huge step forward when it comes to figuring out this whole playoff thing.

— Sam Reinhart certainly picked a good time to score his first playoff goal.

— The Charlotte Checkers finally played their first playoff game — and beat Roberto Luongo’s old pal Cory Schneider to take Game 1 over Bridgeport.

— We (still) have the video postgame from Monday’s postgame with Verhaeghe, Sam Reinhart, Sasha Barkov and Andrew Brunette is on the FloridaHockeyNow YouTube channel.

The FHN Panthers Postgame is also up on the channel. The FHN Morning Skate will be coming Live! from the arena later today.

If you like what you see on the YouTube page, please subscribe!

CAP CENTER

There is no panic within the Washington Capitals after Monday night’s loss.

These guys have, for the most part, been here before.

— Sounds like Tom Wilson traveled to South Florida. Will he play Wednesday?

— Now that the Hershey Bears season is over, the Caps will talk about potential ‘Black Aces’ for the rest of the playoffs. The Panthers hope that is not necessary.

— Don’t forget to visit Sammi Silber for the best Washington Capitals coverage around at WashingtonHockeyNow.Com …

AROUND THE NHL

The Tampa Bay Lightning got off to a fantastic start in Toronto, but the Maple Leafs had a huge third period as they take a 3-2 series lead.

— The Carolina Hurricanes took care of business in Raleigh and beat the Boston Bruins in Game 5.

— The Montreal Canadiens will host the 2022 NHL Draft — and will have the top pick after winning the lottery on Tuesday night.

— Vladimir Tarasenko had a hat trick as the Blues took a 3-2 lead on the Wild.

— The Kings are now a win a way from moving on after winning in overtime on Tuesday night.

— It was a tough year for Patrick Marleau as he did not play this season — and on Tuesday announced his retirement.

— Five potential landing spots for former Islanders coach Barry Trotz.

— Gerard Gallant ripped the Rangers after their loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

— Hard to blame Turk since the Pittsburgh Penguins are doing a lot of damage with Louis Domingue in net.

— The Panthers don’t care, but here’s an early mock draft.

NHL STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

ROUND 1

PANTHERS V. CAPITALS (TIED 2-2)

• Game 5: Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.
• Where: FLA Live Arena, Sunrise  
• TV/Streaming: Bally Sports Florida, ESPN2
• Radio: WQAM 560 (Miami/Fort Lauderdale); WMEN 640 (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3 (Florida Keys); SiriusXM 
• Tickets: CLICK HERE

PANTHERS V. CAPITALS

• Regular season series — Florida won 2-1: @Florida 5, Washington 4 OT (Nov. 4);  @Washington 4, Panthers 3 (Nov. 26); @Florida 5, Washington 4 (Nov. 30)
• All-time regular season series: Capitals lead 67-44-11, 9 ties
• Playoff history: First meeting
• First-round schedule — Game 1: Washington 4, @Florida 2; Game 2: @Florida 5, Washington 1; Game 3: @Washington 6, Florida 1; Game 4: Florida 3, @Washington 2 (OT); Game 5: Washington at Florida, Wednesday, 7:30 (ESPN2/BSF); Game 6: Florida at Washington, Friday (Time, National TV TBA); Game 7*: Washington at Florida, Sunday. *If necessary