Caps lucky to meet wounded Cats

Washington -- Easter Sunday is a day the Washington Capitals can count themselves lucky. They get to host a banged-up Florida Panthers squad who would probably rather stay at home in sunny Florida and lick their wounds.

But the schedule must go on and the Southern Cats have made the trip to DC minus three starters. It could not come at a better time for the Capitals as they are making a huge late push for a playoff spot and they need every point.

In what could be a preview of a round one playoff series, Florida meets Washington coming off a 6-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. A result which also helped the very "lucky" Capitals as the Bolts are one point behind Washington in the playoff chase.

The Capitals enter the game off a 2-1 loss to the Champion Vancouver Canucks.

For the Panthers, Ed Jovanovski, Branislav Mezei and Marc Savard will all miss the game do to injury. Savard (broken nose) and Jovanovski (bruised heel) are in the worst shape and will miss 2-3 games. Look for waiver claim Karlis Skrastins to make his first appearence in a Panther uniform.

Cats clinch division .. claim Skrastins for playoff run

Florida -- The Florida Panthers defeated the New York Rangers 4-3 last night to clinch their second straight Southeast Division. Kris Draper and PJ Axelsson each had two points to pace the Panthers to the home victory.

The game was undecided going into the final minute of play. Jay Bouwmeester rushed the puck into the Rangers end. Jay pulled up and passed the puck to Kyle Calder in the corner. Calder's pass into the slot was one-timed under the bar by Evgeni Malkin. Giving the Panthers a 4-3 advantage with just 38 seconds to play.

The win moved the Panthers to within one point of the Rangers for first overall in the East. Both teams have eight games left in the regular season. The final stretch should provide some excitement at the top of the table.

Karlis Skrastins Added to Florida Roster

The Florida Panthers added some depth to their roster with the waiver claim of Karlis Skrastins. Skrastins was placed on waivers by the Edmonton Oilers and Panthers management were quick to jump in and add Karlis to their team.

"Karlis adds some great depth" said GM IronMike. "We've told Karlis to get settled into South Florida because he will certainly provide a role for our team this season and next. We like what he can bring every night. He's a sound player at both ends of the rink. The coaching staff had no reservations about bringing him onto our team."

Watch for Skrastins to make his debut for the Cats this weekend.
Karlis Skrastins:
Season 6 ... played 21 games for Edmonton and had 3 goals and two assists.
Season 5 ... played 82 games for Nashville and recorded 4 goals and 11 assists.
Season 4 ... played 73 games for Colorado & San Jose and had 1 goal and 4 helpers.
Season 3 ... played 79 games for Colorado and recorded 3 goals and 5 assists.
Season 2 ... played 62 games for Colorado and had 1 goal and 9 helpers.