FHN Today: Florida Panthers on the road in Washington

The Florida Panthers get their first taste of playing on the road in the playoffs this afternoon when they take on the Washington Capitals at 1 p.m.

The best-of-7 game series is even after two games following Florida’s 5-1 win on Thursday night.

Florida coach Andrew Brunette says no changes to the lineup for Saturday which means Noel Acciari stays in and Ryan Lomberg will again sit out.

There was a lot of action in the NHL last night as the Boston Bruins showed a little fight to get back in their series — and Toronto took a big one in Tampa.

We also take a look at the Panthers’ television ratings for the season below…

PANTHERLAND

Sergei Bobrovsky has been absolutely terrific for the Panthers to start this postseason — and the Panthers have needed him to be.

While Florida wasted a really good start from him on Tuesday, they did not do it again Thursday.

— Everything you need to know about Game 3 is packed up nicely right here.

— Per Sports Business Journal, the Panthers had a 6 percent rise in television ratings on Bally Sports this season but are still among the lowest in the NHL.

the Panthers were one of four teams to see viewership increase over last season and are in line with other markets like South Florida.

Hey, this ain’t Buffalo.

— Claude Giroux has fit in very nicely with his new Florida teammates with Brunette calling him a “coach on the ice.” His talent in the faceoff circle is appreciated as well.

— NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was in town for Game 2 and talked about how the game is growing in Florida thanks to the success of the Lightning and Panthers.

— Catch Thursday’s postgame reaction from Bobrovsky, Sasha Barkov, Anton Lundell and Andrew Brunette on the FloridaHockeyNow YouTube page.

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

Because of technical difficulties on Thursday, we couldn’t do a Postgame show but we will have one following today’s game. 

CAP CENTER

Are the Washington Capitals going to make a change in net for today’s game?

After Thursday, they are.

Samsonov gets the call.

— Alex Ovechkin after Game 2: Stuff happens.

— Although he’s not playing, Carl Hagelin is still having a positive impact on the Washington Capitals as he continues to work his way back from a “serious” eye injury.

— For all of your Capitals coverage, head on over to WashingtonHockeyNow.Com … Sammi Silber has you covered.

AROUND THE NHL

The Boston Bruins showed signs of life on Friday night as they played a tough one against the Carolina Hurricanes and got back in this series.

— There was a scary moment in Boston Friday when timekeeper Joe Foley appeared to be knocked cold while inside a penalty box after being hit by a pane of glass. It looked like crazed fans were banging on the glass after David Pastrnak scored a power play goal.

— Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry skating Saturday for the first time since sustaining what is suspected to be a suspected broken foot on April 14.

— The Leafs made a big statement in Tampa with their Game 3 win on Friday night.

— Edmonton also made a statement as it took Game 3 in Los Angeles.

— Minnesota has won the past two games in its series with the Blues.

— The Philadelphia Flyers will give their youngsters a chance next season.

— Changes are coming to the Vegas Golden Knights.

— The Montreal Canadiens could use some cap space.

NHL STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

ROUND 1

PANTHERS V. CAPITALS (TIED 1-1)

• Game 3: Saturday, 1 p.m.
• Where: Capital One Arena, Washington D.C.  
• TV/Streaming: Bally Sports Florida, ESPN
• 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: Florida at Washington, Saturday, 1 (ESPN/BSF); Game 4: Florida at Washington, May 9, 7 (TBS/BSF); Game 5: Washington at Florida, Wednesday, 7:30 (ESPN2/BSF); Game 6*: Florida at Washington, May 13; Game 7: Washington at Florida, May 15. *If necessary