Florida Panthers hoping to discard nerves in Game 4 vs. Capitals

The Florida Panthers, who had the best regular-season record in the NHL this year, have proven to be a team on the rise.

But the eighth-seeded Washington Capitals, who still have a core of players remaining from their Stanley Cup championship team from four years ago, have already won the big prize.

That, essentially, has been the difference between the Panthers and Capitals, who will meet for Game 4 of their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series on Monday night in Washington D.C.

The Capitals dominated the Panthers 6-1 on Saturday afternoon, grabbing a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

So far, the Panthers have appeared tense. Other than Thursday’s 5-1 win, the Panthers have not looked like the free-wheeling team that led the NHL in goals scored this season.

“A little bit of nervousness,” Panthers interim coach Andrew Brunette said of his team. “(Our power play) hasn’t been as smooth as it normally is, but we’ll figure it out.

“As a 20-man group, we have to play better. Regardless of what you draw up, if you don’t play better, it doesn’t matter.”

The Panthers haven’t won a playoff series since 1996, and they have never been favorites to the extent that they were at the start of this series.

Washington, on the other hand, has a lot of credentials, starting with Alex Ovechkin, the third-leading goal-scorer in NHL history. With Ovechkin as the key to their power play, the Capitals are 4-for-11 with the man advantage in this series.

The Panthers, led by Jonathan Huberdeau and his team-high 115 points in the regular season, are 0-for-9 on the power play in this series.

Huberdeau, who had the Panthers’ only goal on Saturday, now has 18 playoff points in his career, tying Ray Sheppard for the most in franchise history.

Still, the Panthers getting held to just one goal or less in regulation/overtime is a rarity that hasn’t happened since Jan. 21, a 2-1 shootout win over the Vancouver Canucks.

Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour said his team will have to play harder and better in Game 4.

“We weren’t ready to play (on Saturday),” Montour said bluntly. “Our energy level -- we can say as much as we want in the (locker-)room, but we get on the ice, and I don’t think we were on it.

“(The Capitals) have strategies to cover us, but we have to fight for every inch. We have to play harder. That’s where it starts. We have to dictate the pace of play.”

Look for the Panthers – who outhit the Capitals 49-44 on Saturday – to play even more aggressively Monday night. Panthers defenseman MacKenzie Weegar had a game-high nine hits on Saturday, and he will surely try to set the tone again on Monday.

“Hopefully mad,” Brunette said when asked how he hopes his team will respond on Monday. “Hopefully we can channel our anger and compete on pucks.

“The story written so far in this series is that we have been outcompeted and out-willed on nearly every puck battle. It’s something we will have to figure out.”

Brunette is sympathetic to his players’ mental state.

“It’s hard,” Brunette said. “(Florida’s players) are putting a lot of pressure on themselves. We’re trying to alleviate it (as coaches).

“We have to find a way to play free. Maybe us getting pounded will loosen us up.”