3 Keys: Capitals at Panthers, Game 1 of Eastern First Round

Capitals (2WC) at Panthers (1A)
Eastern Conference First Round, Game 1
7:30 p.m. ET; ESPN2, SN360, TVAS2, BSFL, NBCSWA

Aaron Ekblad will play for the Florida Panthers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Washington Capitals at FLA Live Arena on Tuesday.
The defenseman missed Florida's final 20 regular-season games after sustaining a lower-body injury against the Anaheim Ducks on March 18.
"Obviously, it's really important for our group," Panthers coach Andrew Brunette said. "He's our best guy back there and he means so much not just to the defensive side of the game, [but also] the offensive side of the game and he really sort of dictates the way we play, and he is a big part of our team obviously. So it's good to see him back."
Ekblad's return for the start of the best-of-7 series might be as big for Florida as forward Alex Ovechkin's return for Washington after he missed the final three regular-season games with an upper-body injury. Ekblad led the Panthers, who won the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's top team in the regular season, in averaging 24:55 of ice time and set League career highs with 57 points and 42 assists before he was injured. He was also one shy of his NHL career-high, with 15 goals.
"Obviously, it's our best defenseman," Panthers forward Jonathan Huberdeau said. "Guys had to step up when he wasn't there and obviously getting him back, it's just good for our team. He plays every minute. He plays everywhere, every situation, so I think it obviously is going to help with our back end for sure."
Though Ekblad hasn't played in a month and a half, he resumed skating three weeks ago and Brunette said he'll likely play his usual workload, which includes running the point on the first power-play unit.
"'Eckie' can't really ease into anything," Brunette said. "He's prepared himself physically, cardio-vascularly, he seems really good. So we'll see how it goes. We'll try to manage him a little bit, but he's such a competitive guy, he's going to want to go out every shift."
Teams that win Game 1 are 499-228 (68.8 percent) winning a best-of-7 NHL playoff series, including 6-2 in the first round last season.
Here are three keys for Game 1:

1. Vanecek to start

Vitek Vanecek will start the series opener for Washington after neither he nor Ilya Samsonov established himself as the No. 1 goalie in the regular season. The Capitals need one of their goalies to step up and play consistently to have their best chance against the Panthers, who led the NHL in scoring 4.11 goals per game.
Vanecek (20-12-6, 2.67 goals-against average, .908 save percentage, four shutouts) and Samsonov (23-12-5, 3.02 GAA, .896 save percentage, three shutouts) each had good stretches during the regular season, but were unable to sustain them.
"Vitek's body of work has been just a little bit stronger, but it's close," Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said. "They've both given us big wins, enough where we've had a successful season. … But the body of work that [Vanecek] had this year just earns him the nod for Game 1."

2. Get the puck and keep it

The Panthers and Capitals each want to force turnovers with their forecheck and generate sustained puck possession in the offensive zone to keep the pressure off their defenses and goalies. Each team thrives off rushes in the transition game, so limiting the turnovers that feed into that will be essential.
"Decisions at the lines, don't let them have the transition game they want, because they're really skilled up front and can really make plays from nothing," Panthers forward Patric Hornqvist said. "So we just have to make sure we're dialed in on the lines and skating and outwork them out there."

3. Let's get physical

The Capitals were sixth in the NHL during the regular season in averaging 24.85 hits per 60 minutes and the Panthers were seventh in averaging 24.67. Each will want to ramp up that physicality to another level to try to wear down the opponent over a long series.

Capitals projected lineup

Alex Ovechkin -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Conor Sheary
Marcus Johansson -- Nicklas Backstrom -- Tom Wilson
Anthony Mantha -- Lars Eller -- T.J. Oshie
Johan Larsson -- Nic Dowd -- Garnet Hathaway
Martin Fehervary -- John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov -- Nick Jensen
Trevor van Riemsdyk -- Justin Schultz
Vitek Vanecek
Ilya Samsonov
Scratched: Connor McMichael, Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, Matt Irwin, Michal Kempny, Zach Fucale
Injured: Carl Hagelin (left eye)

Panthers projected lineup

Carter Verhaeghe -- Aleksander Barkov -- Anthony Duclair
Jonathan Huberdeau -- Sam Bennett -- Claude Giroux
Mason Marchment -- Anton Lundell -- Sam Reinhart
Ryan Lomberg -- Eetu Luostarinen -- Patric Hornqvist
MacKenzie Weegar -- Aaron Ekblad
Gustav Forsling -- Radko Gudas
Ben Chiarot -- Brandon Montour
Sergei Bobrovsky
Spencer Knight
Scratched: Petteri Lindbohm, Noel Acciari, Joe Thornton, Lucas Carlsson, Maxim Mamin, Robert Hagg, Jonas Johansson
Injured: Markus Nutivaara (undisclosed)
Status report
Hagelin, a forward who's out indefinitely after undergoing surgery in March, accompanied the Capitals on their trip to South Florida. … Panthers coach Andrew Brunette said Huberdeau and Marchment would play; each practiced the past two days after being out for a maintenance day Sunday.