Panthers, Capitals take on new roles for Stanley Cup Playoffs series

ARLINGTON, Va. -- The Washington Capitals and the Florida Panthers find themselves in opposite roles than they're used to heading into Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round at FLA Live Arena on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; ESPN2, SN360, TVAS2, BSFL, NBCSWA).

For the first time in 10 seasons, the Capitals (44-26-12) are a clear underdog to open the postseason after qualifying as the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference with 100 points. And for the first time in the Panthers' 28-season history, they are Stanley Cup favorites to begin the playoffs after setting team records with 58 wins (58-18-6) and 122 points on their way to winning the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL regular-season points leader for the first time.
Not that either team believes that will matter much when the puck drops Tuesday.
"To be honest with you, I think the expectations and the pressure is pretty similar for both teams," Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov said. "Even though we're not the Presidents' (Trophy) winner and we're the wild card or whatever, I feel the pressure is pretty big on us too."
The Capitals are used to pressure in the playoffs. They have been the higher seed and had home-ice advantage in each of their first-round series since 2013, including as the Presidents' Trophy winner in 2016 and 2017. They finished first in the Metropolitan Division when they won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 2018.
Washington last began the playoffs on the road as the lower seed in 2012, when it was the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference and upset the second-seeded Boston Bruins, who were the defending Stanley Cup champions, in seven games. But the Capitals don't view themselves as underdogs against the Panthers, despite finishing 22 points behind them.
"I don't think so," Capitals forward T.J. Oshie said. "I think we are pretty experienced in there to know that once you get to an NHL playoffs, the gap in playoffs is so much closer than in the regular season. Now if we don't play to our best ability and don't play our game, they are probably going to score a lot of goals. So they have that ability. But we have that ability also if we are playing our game and playing as a team and taking care of each other and making smart puck decisions."
Conversely, the Panthers are downplaying that they are the favorites and have pressure on them trying to become the first Presidents' Trophy winner to win the Stanley Cup since the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013. Florida hasn't won a playoff series since it advanced to the 1996 Stanley Cup Final before being swept the Colorado Avalanche.
The Panthers have played six playoff series since then and lost them all, including a six-game defeat to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round last season.
"I think we're just happy to be here," Panthers coach Andrew Brunette said. "You know, I think we don't really have the luxury to even think about the No. 1 seed. I think, with this group, they missed the playoffs enough. The [Aaron] Ekblads, the [Aleksander] Barkovs and [Jonathan] Huberdeaus, they're happy to be in it and happy to have an opportunity to compete in the tournament.
"And as for the regular season, that was ended on Friday and this is a new season."
Although Florida was the higher seed against Tampa Bay last season, Tampa Bay was the favorite in that series as the defending Stanley Cup champions. The Panthers believe they learned from that experience against a team that went on to win the Cup again, but that only will help them so much this postseason.
"Great series, but new team, new year," Panthers defenseman MacKenzie Weegar said. "How we prepare for this series is just like another game. We can't change our game. We got to play the same way we always do. We're looking forward to playing this team. They won a Stanley Cup, they've got a lot of experience on that side, and it's going to take every single guy in that room to play their best to beat them."
Much of the Capitals' core from their 2018 Stanley Cup remains, including Oshie, Kuznetsov, Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Dmitry Orlov and John Carlson. But that group also has experienced its share of disappointments, including first-round losses each of the past three seasons.
The Capitals also know the pressure that comes with winning the Presidents' Trophy. Washington lost in the second round of the playoffs after winning the Presidents' Trophy in 2016 and 2017.
Ovechkin, Backstrom and Carlson remain from the Capitals' 2010 Presidents' Trophy winning team that was upset by the Montreal Canadiens in seven games in the first round.
"Yeah, we've been there," Ovechkin said. "It's going to be totally different games than the regular season. Obviously they have a very solid group of guys, best team in the regular season. But in the playoffs it's going to be different. It's going to be a different mindset. It's going to be different speed. It's going to be a different battle level."
NHL.com independent correspondent Alain Poupart contributed to this story.