Graphic design: Francisco Oporta

The Florida Panthers (42-24-3) will look to avoid the season-series sweep when they visit the Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals (46-15-8) at Capital One Arena.

After losing two-straight for the first time since January, the Panthers were able to get back in the win column when Aleksander Barkov sniped Elvis Merzlikins 29 seconds into overtime to give the Cats a 1-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. Seth Jones and Sam Reinhart assisted on the goal and Sergei Bobrovsky continued his dominance over his former team by posting his fifth shutout of the season.

The Capitals, who are wrapping a three-game homestand, became the first team to hit 100 points (Winnipeg did it later that night) and more importantly, clinch a postseason berth when they held off the Philadelphia Flyers for a 3-2 win on Thursday. After a little bit of a wobble following the 4 Nations Face-Off break, Washington has won eight of its last nine games. Alex Ovechkin is up to 888 career goals, just seven more and he’ll set a new NHL record.

• WHEN: 5 p.m. ET
• WHERE: Capital One Arena – Washington, DC
• ON THE TUBE: Scripps, Monumental Sports Network
• ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM (D/B), 1230 The Gambler (PB), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)
• SOCIALS: #TimeToHunt, #ALLCAPS, #FLAvsWSH, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
• ENEMY INTEL: Japers’ Rink
• FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 3 of 3 (0-2)
• LAST MEETING: @WSH 6, FLA 3 (Recap) – 2/4/2025
• NEXT MEETING: Playoffs or 2025-26 season
• PROJECTED STARTERS: Florida: Vaněček (4-11-3 .888 / 3.63 1SO) Washington: Thompson (30-4-5 .917 / 2.29 2SO)
• PLAYER STATS: Florida / Washington

Saturday in the Atlantic (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances)

• Minnesota 4, BUFFALO 1
• TAMPA BAY (40-23-5 85P) at Utah (31-27-11 73P) 5 p.m.
• Colorado (42-25-3 85P) at MONTREAL (33-27-8 74P) 7 p.m.
• OTTAWA (36-27-5 77P) at New Jersey (37-27-6 80P) 7 p.m.
• TORONTO (42-24-3 87P) at Nashville (25-35-8 58P) 7 p.m.
• DETROIT (32-30-6 68P) at Vegas (40-20-8 88P) 8 p.m. (ABC)
• BOSTON (30-31-9 69P) at San Jose (18-42-9 45P) 10:30 p.m.