Capitals get 3rd seed, to face former coach
T.J. Oshie and Tom Wilson scored, Braden Holtby made 30 saves and the Washington Capitals beat the Boston Bruins, 2-1, in round-robin play Sunday in Toronto, to clinch the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference and set up a firstround matchup against former coach Barry Trotz’s New York Islanders.
“We know their system well,” captain Alex Ovechkin said. “It’s gonna be tight games, it’s gonna be tough games. It’s not gonna be easy.”
Boston, which won the Presidents’ Trophy as the top team during the NHL regular season that was cut short in March, lost all three of its seeding games and fell to fourth in the East. The Bruins will face the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round in a rematch of the 2019 East final.
“Our top line, they’ve been held off the score sheet and I believe it’s going to be a tough task for Carolina to do that on a consistent basis,” Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said of the trio of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and top goal-scorer David Pastrnak. “I think that those guys will be able to get their game going, but we’re going to need that primary scoring.”
Trotz coached Washington to its first Stanley Cup title in franchise history in 2018, then left in a contract dispute. Trotz went to the Islanders, while the Capitals hired his top assistant, Todd Reirden, as head coach. This is the first time they’ve faced off in a playoff series since.
“I think it will be a hell of a series,” Trotz said. “Both teams are well-equipped to go at each other.”
Other games
Stars 2, Blues 1: Joe Pavelski tied it with 31.4 seconds left in the third period, Anton Khudobin stopped all three shots he faced in the shootout and Dallas beat St. Louis in round-robin play in Edmonton, Alberta, to clinch the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. After Denis Gurianov scored the only goal of the shootout, Dallas will face the Calgary Flames in the first round of the playoffs. The Stars have some momentum going into that best-of-seven series after picking up their first win of any kind since Feb. 25. Defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis went winless in the round robin and will next face the Vancouver Canucks.
Blue Jackets 3, Maple Leafs 0: Joonas Korpisalo stopped 33 shots and Columbus advanced to the first round with a win over Toronto in a decisive Game 5 Sunday night. Zach Werenski’s floater from the left point in the first period held up as the deciding goal. Werenski played despite not being able to finish Game 4.