The Caps come into Nashville having lost their last 4 games. Since the beat Boston 4-3 the last day of March they've dropped games to Carolina, Florida, Toronto, and Pittsburgh. They only managed one point in those 4 games, a shootout loss to the Pens. The Caps can't afford to give up these games late in the season. Florida has been playing strongly, and Carolina has gone 8-2 in their last 10 games to jump into the 6-seed in the East. Both teams are within ten points of the Caps in the Southeast. With 15 games left and a division-heavy schedule down the stretch, every game will be a big game for the Caps. Tonight will be their last game against a Western Conference team, and with the problems they've had against Western teams this season, a win would really give them a boost down the stretch.
The Caps catch a break tonight as Tarik is reporting that Pekka Rinne will be out tonight with the flu. Rinne is third in the league in GAA (2.27) and sixth in save percentage (.921%). He is even tied for 2nd in the league with 6 shutouts. But all those stats don't help Nashville tonight as he'll be on the bench.
Tonight will be all about scoring first and holding that lead after one period. As Japers' Rink points out, "Nashville is 27-6-2 when scoring first and a League-best 15-0-1 when leading after one period; 6-23-2 when allowing the first goal)." The Caps have given up 20 goals in their last 5 games, so it's about time the defense locks down and plays a tight game. As The Peerless points out;
This is a game likely to be dictated by defense. Nashville is 25-6-1 in games they score more than two goals, and they are fourth in the league in one-goal game winning percentage (16-7-4/.593). Oddly, perhaps, the Capitals have played in more one-goal games than have the Predators (16-7-6/.552, 11th in the league). It argues for a tight, low-scoring game against a team that is resurgent, desperate, and out of the West
