With two playoff games in the books, we're all square heading to D.C.
After the Capitals managed to secure a 4-2 win in Game 1, the Panthers stormed back to claim a 5-1 win in Game 2 to pull even in their Eastern Conference First Round battle, which will now shift from FLA Live Arena to Capital One Arena for Games 3 and 4 of the best-of-seven series.
BY THE NUMBERS: Panthers, Capitals all square heading into Game 3
Gaining more confidence with each passing minute in Game 2, five different Panthers found the back of the net, while Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves to keep Washington's offense in check.
"We got better as the game went on," said Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov, whose first goal of the playoffs put Florida up 2-0 in the first period. "Bob kept us in the game and gave us a chance to win, and then we kept building. Now the series is even and we're ready to go."
But before the puck drops at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday for Game 3, let's take some time to look back at some numbers that have stuck out through the first two games of the heated series.
0:Goals for Alexander Ovechkin. It's not an easy task by any means, but the Panthers have done a good job of keeping the Great 8 from touching twine through two games. That being said, Ovechkin, who scored 50 goals during the regular season, has dished out two assists.
3: The number of Panthers to make their playoff debuts. When the puck dropped in Game 1, Sam Reinhart, Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen all officially made their NHL playoff debuts.
3:Carter Verhaeghe's team-leading point total. Cracking the scoresheet in each of the first two games of the postseason, Swaggy paces all Panthers with three points (one goal, two assists).
+6:Gustav Forsling's plus/minus rating. The Panthers have scored seven goals through the first two games of the playoffs, and the smooth-skating Swede has incredibly been on the ice for all but one of them. That +6 rating not only leads the team, but is tied for the best mark in the NHL.
7:The number of rookies to score a playoff goal for the Panthers. That list consisted of just six players before Anton Lundell lit the lamp against the Capitals in Game 2. At 20 years and 214 days, he became the third-youngest player to score a goal in the postseason in the history of the team, behind Radek Dvorak (19 years, 76 days) and Ed Jovanovski (19 years, 301 days).
8:The number of shots for Jonathan Huberdeau. Florida's regular-season scoring leader has been pelting the opposing net through the first two games of the playoffs. Underneath him on the team's leaderboard, Ben Chiarot and Brandon Montour have each fired off seven shots.
13:The number of Panthers with at least one point. Just like it was during the regular season, the Cats have been sharing the wealth on offense through the first two game of the playoffs. Of those 13 players, five have recorded multiple points, including two assists for Radko Gudas.
.938:Sergei Bobrovsky's save percentage. There's no other way to put it, Bob has been a brick wall in the early goings of the postseason. After making 34 saves in Game 1, Bobrovsky looked nearly unbeatable as he turned aside 26 of 27 shots to backstop the Cats to a win in Game 2.
95:The number of hits the Panthers have dished out. Sitting fourth in the NHL in postseason hits, 14 different players have handed out at least four checks thus far. Sam Bennett leads the way with 13, while Mason Marchment (10) and MacKenzie Weegar (8) aren't too far behind. In Game 1, Florida's 56 hits were the team's second-most in a playoff game in franchise history.
43:24:Total time on ice for Aaron Ekblad. Like Aleksander Barkov said after Game 2, Ekblad has been a "true warrior" since getting back on the ice. Despite missing the final six weeks of the regular season with a lower-body injury, Ekblad, who netted his first-career playoff goal in Game 2, stands as Florida's leader in ice time through the first two games of the postseason.
52.9%: Florida's faceoff win percentage. The fourth-best team in the NHL in the dot in the playoffs, Claude Giroux has been setting with a team-high 65.9% success rate. In second, Aleksander Barkov has won 62.9% of his draws. As clutch as they come, Giroux has won a staggering 83.3% of the faceoffs that he's taken in the defensive zone through two games.
56.52%:The percentage of total shot attempts the Panthers have controlled at 5-on-5, per NaturalStatTrick.com. Even though the Capitals have been doing a sound job defensively in the series, the Panthers have still managed to execute their game at even strength. Owning the third-best Corsi for percentage at 5-on-5 in the playoffs, they've led 7-2 in goals at 5-on-5.
65.22%: Mason Marchment's CF% at 5-on-5. Utilizing his size and length to forecheck the Capitals into oblivion, the Panthers have led 30-16 in shot attempts and 15-11 in scoring chances when he's been on the ice at 5-on-5 through the first two games of the playoffs.
.36:Florida's expected goals allowed when Patric Hornqvist has been on the ice a 5-on-5. Asserting himself on the ice every time he hops over the boards, Hornqvist's team-leading xGF at even-strength serves as a testament to that next level his always finds in the postseason.
.863: Vitek Vanecek's save percentage. After surrendering just two goals and picking up the win in Game 1, the Capitals goaltender gave up five goals in 19 shots before being relieved by Ilya Samsonov after two periods in Game 2. With the series only just getting started, Washington might now be forced to endure the same goaltending carousel they had in the regular season.
39,314:The total number of fans that attended Games 1 and 2 at FLA Live Arena. Following Game 2, Anton Lundell pointed to having a rowdy home crowd as one of the key factors when it came to helping the Panthers swing momentum back in their favor against the Capitals.
"We heard the loud [the arena was] with the Cats fans," Lundell said with a big smile. "That gave us a lot of confidence and energy to just keep going. It was a really good team effort today."
Keep it up in Game 5, Cats fans!
