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Caps visit Panthers, take aim at Southeast lead

Mar 6, 2011 - 4:03 PM (Sports Network) - The Washington Capitals will take aim at a fourth straight victory and first place in the Southeast Division when they visit the Florida Panthers today at BankAtlantic Center.

The Capitals enter today's action as the fifth-seeded club in the Eastern Conference, and with five victories over their last six games, Washington has also closed within one point of Tampa Bay for first place in the Southeast Division. The Caps can claim the division lead for themselves today before visiting the Lightning tomorrow at St. Pete Times Forum.

"Keep my fingers crossed. It's not over yet. I think there's still a few games left," said Washington head coach Bruce Boudreau after his club's recent win over the St. Louis Blues. "But it makes it closer. We can see the guys above us now, which is really good."

Washington has won the Southeast title in each of the past three seasons, setting a club record for consecutive division crowns.

The Capitals notched their most recent win Thursday night against visiting St. Louis. Jason Arnott scored his first goal for Washington late in the third period and the Capitals held on for the 3-2 victory at Verizon Center. The Caps had acquired Arnott from New Jersey at the trade deadline, and the center also had an assist in Tuesday's overtime win against the Islanders.

Nicklas Backstrom and Scott Hannan also scored for the Capitals, while Michal Neuvirth made 25 saves.

Washington has won its last three road games and it has a 16-12-3 record as the guest this season.

Florida has taken two of three from the Capitals this season, but Washington has still claimed seven of nine and 10 of the last 14 encounters between the clubs. The Caps have also come out on top in six of their last eight trips to Sunrise.

The Panthers lost a fourth straight game on Saturday, but did earn a point in the overtime setback in Atlanta. Andrew Ladd scored just 25 seconds into the extra session to give the Thrashers the 4-3 decision at Philips Arena.

Stephen Weiss and Sergei Samsonov each had a goal and an assist for the Panthers, who have also lost six of their last seven games. Tomas Vokoun made 32 stops in the loss.

"We got down and took some penalties in the second half of the game," said Vokoun. "Obviously when we got down 3-1, we pushed back and scored a couple of goals. It's tough and we've lost a bunch of our regular players. It's not easy in this league, you just try to do the best you can."

Florida is 13th in the East and 11 points out of the conference's final playoff spot.

The Panthers have also lost four in a row on home ice, but will get a chance to end that streak when they open a seven-game homestand today. Florida is 12-13-6 as the host this season.