Well, here at last, dear friends, on the shores of the Anacostia comes the end of our fellowship in the rego season. Go in peace! I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil.
The Capitals will suit up to host the New Jersey Devils tonight in a game that in some ways is a mere formality, and in other ways a big big deal. The outcome of tonight’s game will help decide who the Caps’ first round playoff opponent will be. There’s a real chance that tonight would be the prologue to a Caps-Devils series.
Puck drop is at 7 PM. Your sweet boy Chris Cerullo will provide your recap.
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|---|---|---|
| Record | 44-28-9 | 48-26-7 |
| Shot Attempt % | 48.9% | 48.2% |
| PDO | 99.7 | 101.5 |
| Power Play | 21.5% | 22.7% |
| Penalty Kill | 81.6% | 80.2% |
Projected Lines
The Caps are not resting many folks, at least not as of the final morning skate of the rego season. By way of the great and wonderful Izzy:
Ovechkin – Kuznetsov – Wilson
Burakovsky – Backstrom – Connolly
Vrana – Eller – DSP
Gersich – Stephenson – Chiasson
Kempny – Carlson
Orlov – Niskanen
Orpik – Jerabek
Holtby
The Playoff Picture
Let’s see if I can game this out. The Caps will play:
- Columbus,
- if WSH beats NJD and NYR beats PHI and NSH beats CBJ.
- New Jersey,
- if NJD beats WSH and CBJ beats NSH, or
- if WSH beats NJD and NYR beats PHI.
- Philadelphia,
- if PHI beats NYR and WSH beats NJD.
- Florida,
- if NYR beats PHI, FLA beats BUF and BOS, and FLA wins tiebreaker and the moon is in the seventh circle.
Ugh, this is hard. Does that sound right? I have no idea. Please don’t take any of this to the bank. Basically, anything can happen.
Storylines
- Jay Beagle is likely to miss tonight’s game as he recovers from injury, though he is expected back for the playoffs.
- TJ Oshie and Travis Boyd are having maintenance days.
- Brooks Orpik (80 games played, average ice time 19:24) will likely play in game 82. I wrote about this in the preseason, and I was right.
Brooks Orpik will likely play in game 82, but his ice time has drifted down all the way from "outta control" to "still too much for a 37 year old unless you're Nick Lidstrom." pic.twitter.com/badMXY5Otl
— Peter Hassett (@peterhassett) April 7, 2018
- New Jersey’s Marcus Johansson has not played since he was injured by Brad Marchand on January 23. He will not return tonight. The Devils are resting some players, which seems like a smart move.
#NJDevils lineup vs Caps:
Bratt-Hischier-Stafford
Gibbons-Coleman-Noesen
Wood-Zacha-Maroon
Grabner-Boyle-HayesGreene-Mueller
Moore-Severson
Butcher-LovejoySchneider
— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) April 7, 2018
- (Columbus is also resting players. Read into that however you want.)
- General Manager Brian MacLellan declines to discuss a possible contract extension for Barry Trotz and how the loffs may or may not play into it.
- It is possible there will be a tiebreaker play-in game after game 82. Yes please.
- My favorite Overwatch team spent a day with the Stanley Cup. Finally, some esports content on the ol’ RMNB.
- I wrote about how it would be a cool thing if the Caps would play the Penguins in the first round. The Caps will not play the Penguins in the first round.
- A horrible traffic accident has affected a Canadian youth hockey team. Several Caps have reached out.
- Ovi is going to Barcelona this summer.
Farewell Henrik and Daniel
The NHL is about to get a lot less superhuman and polite. And also a little less creepy if we’re being honest. First ballot hall-of-famers coming through.
Full Coverage of Caps vs Devils
Headline photo: Nick Wass
