There’s chaos all around the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Tampa Bay Lightning, the best team in the NHL during the regular season, have fallen behind 3-0 to their first-round opponent, the Columbus Blue Jackets. The surprisingly good St. Louis Blues have a 2-1 lead on the Winnipeg Jets. Even though the Pittsburgh Penguins are the lower seed in their series, many are stunned that they’ve fallen behind the New York Islanders three games to none.
Amidst the chaos, the Capitals took care of business at home in the first two games of their first-round series, giving them an edge to potentially go on another Stanley Cup run.
With Game 3 fast approaching, here’s what you need to know before the Capitals’ first road game of the playoffs.
Opponent: Carolina Hurricanes (Capitals lead series 2-0)
When: Monday, April 15, 7 p.m.
Where: PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina
TV channel: NBC Sports Washington, CNBC
Radio: 106.7 The Fan
What to watch for: Monday marks the Hurricanes’ first playoff home game in 10 years, so expect a riled-up crowd in Carolina. … Hurricanes goalie Petr Mrazek has an .860 save percentage so far this postseason, which ranks second-worst of all playoff goalies, thanks to Washington’s high shooting percentage thus far. … All of the Capitals’ 5-on-5 goals in these playoffs have come from forwards on their top two lines (Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Tom Wilson and T.J. Oshie). Perhaps Jakub Vrana and Brett Connolly, two 20-goal scorers playing on the third line with Lars Eller, are due for a breakout performance.
Pre-game reading:
#Caps cherish what they’ve got in team dad Brooks Orpik, by @Adam_Zielonka https://t.co/VjvAm1dDzl
— WashTimes Sports (@WashTimesSports) April 15, 2019
Having been crushed by past playoff failures, Nicklas Backstrom saved the Capitals from a disaster in the making in Saturday’s Game 2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes, @thomloverro writes. https://t.co/W74pGFZvKA #CapsCanes #Capitals #NicklasBackstrom #StanleyCupPlayoffs
— WashTimes Sports (@WashTimesSports) April 14, 2019
Alex Ovechkin’s evolution as passer on display in the Capitals’ Game 2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, by @Matthew_Paras. https://t.co/xVyYWEmJuo #Capitals #CapsCanes #Ovechkin #StanleyCupPlayoffs
— WashTimes Sports (@WashTimesSports) April 14, 2019
Brooks Orpik scores the game-winner in OT and the #Caps go up 2-0 in their first-round series. @Adam_Zielonka with the story: https://t.co/SP9HRBF4EF
— WashTimes Sports (@WashTimesSports) April 13, 2019
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