First Down

TODAY ON WASHINGTONTIMES.COM

D1SCOURSE: Always looking ahead, Patrick Stevens has ranked his top 35 men’s college basketball teams for next season.

In the Room: Corey Masisak checks in from the last day of practice before the Caps’ first playoff game.

TODAY’S BEST BET ON TELEVISION

In the first Frozen Four semifinal, North Dakota faces longtime nemesis Boston College. 6 p.m., ESPN2

LOCAL POWER RANKINGS

1. ALEX OVECHKIN

The Moscow Dynamo has denied any requests to pull out the razor. The District’s best pro athlete makes his postseason debut tomorrow night for the Capitals against Philadelphia.

2. GILBERT ARENAS

He’s boycotting the media. The success rate since the creation of American team sports of a player/coach looking like a complete buffoon when acting that way is 100 percent.

3. JEROME MATHIS

Because of his checkered past, many were surprised when the Redskins signed him last week. It should serve notice to Rock Cartwright that he needs to hit some home runs in the return game.

4. RYAN ZIMMERMAN

Entering last night’s game, the Nationals’ third baseman was batting .257 with two homers and three RBI in 35 at-bats. Zimmerman will start hitting, but it better be sooner rather than later.

5. CRYSTAL LANGHORNE

The Mystics selected the Maryland star sixth in yesterday’s draft. And that fills the yearly quota for WNBA references here. Just not interested.

TWT FIVE — Best things about playoff hockey

1. No shootouts. A terrible part of the regular season. The games will be played — five-on-five — until there is a winner. That usually means at least a few triple-OT contests.

2. Playing hurt. The league office allows teams to conceal injury information, which stinks for us media-folk. But over the next two months, players will suck it up and play.

3. The stars shine. Because teams rarely play back to back, coaches can ride their star players. Look for Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom to play 20-plus minutes, and expect Mike Green to play 25 minutes a game.

4. The Cup. It is the best-looking trophy in sports, and it’s the most difficult to win. Who doesn’t get goose bumps when it’s hoisted by the winning team’s captain?

5. Weird grooming choices. Brooks Laich isn’t cutting his hair. Ovechkin is growing a beard. I vote for handlebar mustaches instead of the traditional unsightly playoff beards.