The Florida Panthers and Washington Capitals are not the only game being played at Capital One Arena today.
Before the hockey gets going tonight, the Georgetown Hoyas played host to the UConn Huskies in mens’ basketball.
Hopefully the ice is OK.
This is not the first time the Panthers played the late game in an arena due to an afternoon basketball game — and it certainly will not be the last.
The Carolina Hurricanes often play games on the same day as the NC State basketball team; Madison Square Garden and Staples Center (I know) in Los Angeles often have doubleheaders as well.
And, although the Capitals often use their training facility for morning skates, the Panthers usually use the home arena when on the road.
That was not available today, so, the Panthers scratches who wanted to get some ice time had to head across the river to Arlington, Va.
Aside from switching out goalies, the Panthers are not expected to make any lineup changes tonight following Friday’s 9-1 loss in Raleigh.
NOTES: PANTHERS AT CAPITALS
Matthew Tkachuk took part in Florida’s scratch skate on Saturday meaning it is likely he will not play again tonight. Brad Marchand was not on the ice.
Former Florida prospect Justin Sourdif is out and will miss his third straight game.
Starting Goalies: Daniil Tarasov is expected to make his first start of the road trip for the Panthers after a strong win back on Jan. 4 against the Colorado Avalanche. Washington will start Logan Thompson.
How to Watch/Stream: The Panthers are back on local television tonight but also on NHL Network. To stream, use Panthers+ locally or ESPN+ nationally.
NHL Betting Odds: The Capitals are a solid favorite (-145) on the money line at the local book. To win with Washington, a $145 bet wins $100. To cash with Florida (+125), a $100 wager wins $125.
ON DECK: GAME No. 47
FLORIDA PANTHERS at WASHINGTON CAPITALS
PROJECTED FLORIDA PANTHERS (24-19-3) LINES
27 Eetu Luostarinen // 15 Anton Lundell // 13 Sam Reinhart
23 Carter Verhaeghe // 9 Sam Bennett // 10 A.J. Greer
95 Sandis Vilmanis // 17 Evan Rodrigues // 11 Mackie Samoskevich
70 Jesper Boqvist // 79 Cole Schwindt // 71 Luke KuninÂ
42 Gus Forsling // 5 Aaron Ekblad
77 Niko Mikkola // 26 Uvis Balinskis
6 Donovan Sebrango // 2 Jeff Petry
40 Daniil Tarasov
72 Sergei Bobrovsky
Scratched: Toby Bjornfot, Noah Gregor, Jack Studnicka
Injured: Brad Marchand (lower body), Seth Jones (upper body), Sasha Barkov (knee), Matthew Tkachuk (lower body), Tomas Nosek (knee), Dmitry Kulikov (shoulder), Jonah Gadjovich (upper body)
PROJECTED WASHINGTON CAPITALS (24-18-6) LINES
8 Alex Ovechkin // 17 Dylan Strome // 53 Ethen Frank
21 Aliaksei Protas // 24 Connor McMichael // 9 Ryan Leonard
22 Brandon Duhaime // 26 Nic Dowd // 72 Anthony Beauvillier
XX Ivan Miroshnichenko // 29 Hendrix Lapierre // 20 Brett Leason
42 Martin Fehervary // 74 John Carlson
6 Jakob Chychrun // 3 Matt Roy
38 Rasmus Sandin // 57 Trevor van Riemsdyk
48 Logan Thompson
79 Charlie Lindgren
Scratched: Declan Chisholm, Dylan McIlrath, Sonny Milano
Injured: Pierre-Luc Dubois (lower body), Tom Wilson (lower body), Justin Sourdif (upper body)
