Vokoun Blanks Former Team in Caps Win

Caps goalie Tomas Vokoun faced his former team for the first time Tuesday night at the Verizon Center.  But this Florida Panthers squad doesn't look much like the team Vokoun was a part of last year.

Free agency and trades tore that team apart after last season.  So while Vokoun was all smiles after blanking the Panthers 3-0, there wasn't a sense that he was sticking it to his former team.  Heck, he hardly knows anyone on the Florida bench.

"I don't hold any grudges," Vokoun said about his former team. "I had a good time and they treated me well."

But now Vokoun is a Capital, and his current teammates are treating him very well.  They helped him earn his fourth win of the season and his 45th career shutout.

The shutout was Voukon's first as a Capital -- and first since shutting the Caps out last season as a member of the Panthers.

There have been concerns on Vokoun's ability to adjust from playing for a team that has led the league in shots against per game in two of the past four seasons. He faced just two shots against in the first period Tuesday night, and he admitted that that can be just as tough as facing a ton of rubber. 

"My job is to block the puck so I just worry about that," Vokoun said. "I try to take all of the other stuff out of it."

The Panthers only managed 20 shots on goal Tuesday -- well under the average of more than 30 that Vokoun experienced playing in Florida.

"Two shots or 20," Vokoun said, "I am just trying to do my thing."
 

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