What might hamper some teams' style of play may prove to be an advantage for the Capitals as they look to build on their 1-0 series lead against the Panthers Thursday night.
The temperature in Sunrise, Florida tonight is expected to be in the low-90s, which believe it or not can permeate the walls of an arena and affect the composition of the ice. We saw this in Las Vegas when the Caps won the Stanley Cup in 2018. Softer, slushier ice means slower skates, which could play into Washington's game plan in slowing down a Panthers club that's known for playing fast.
Capitals center Lars Eller was asked about the ice at FLA Live Arena — particularly if he noticed anything about the ice surface during Game 1 — during a Thursday morning appearance with The Sports Junkies, driven by Dulles Motorcars.
"Ice surface, it can vary a little bit actually from rink to rink all over wherever you go," Eller said. "But you notice some places are more humid than others and the ice gets more chippy or a little softer."
"Actually, in D.C. it gets very humid and it's a little bit the same down here," he said. "But once you've been on for three or four times — morning skate, and then we have practice — then you get used to it and then you know what to expect."
As for what the Caps expect in Game 2, Eller believes they'll see a more intense version of what they already saw from the Panthers in Game 1, with their backs against the wall and not wanting to fall to 0-2 heading back to Washington for Game 3.
"I expect it to be even harder," he said. "I think their physical play is gonna try to be very physical. Their fast players are gonna try to use their speed, all of that. Nothing we didn't expect in Game 1, but they're gonna go at it again. And they are a good team.
"We're gonna try our best to try to take their speed out of their game and, again, I know it's a cliché, but the more we have the puck, the less their forward's gonna have it. We're gonna try to keep it as long as we can and play offense in their end and, again, we've got to score on our chances when we get 'em."