T.J. Oshie’s First Goals Of Series Propels Caps In Win

Washington Capitals winger T.J. Oshie found an opportune time to pot his first goals of the series on a first-period power play in Game 6 and an empty-netter in the final minute. Oshie assumed his usual power-play position in the high slot when Nicklas Backstrom fed a pass, changing the angle on Tampa Bay goalie... Read More

Braden Holtby Blanks Bolts To Force Game 7

Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby was perfect in Game 6 when his team needed him most. He stopped all 24 shots faced to earn his first shutout of the postseason. Admittedly, Holtby got some help from his teammates. On Tampa Bay’s two power plays, they were only able to produce one shot on goal and... Read More

Cedric Paquette Opens Scoring On First Shot Of Game 5

Tampa Bay forward Cedric Paquette scored on the first shot of the game in Saturday’s win over the Washington Capitals. Tasked with shutting down Washington’s top line, Paquette and Tampa’s fourth line started Game 5. Paquette’s line got the better of the Capitals twice in the game, scoring in the opening minute of both the... Read More

John Carlson Logs Assist, Game-High Eight Shots

With the goalie pulled, Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson found Alex Ovechkin for a patented one-timer goal to bring the Caps within one in Game 5. Unfortunately, that is as close as they would get, losing the game 3-2 and trailing in the series for the first time. Carlson is enjoying the most productive postseason... Read More

Ondrej Palat Scores In Win, Extends Point Streak To Three Games

Tampa Bay Lightning winger Ondrej Palat extended a point streak to three games, scoring midway through the first period in Saturday’s Game 5. Palat received a pass from Nikita Kucherov in the slot and snapped a shot past Braden Holtby for his sixth of the postseason. The 27-year-old has been enjoying his new line with... Read More

Ryan Callahan, Fourth Line Come Up Big In Game 5

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ryan Callahan assisted Cedric Paquette’s goal in the opening minute of Game 5, and later added the eventual game winner. Game 5 wasn’t the first time coach Jon Cooper has tapped his fourth line for the opening faceoff, tasking them with shutting down Washington’s top unit. This was easily Callahan’s best... Read More

Andrei Vasilevskiy Continues To Roll Out Strong Performances

Tampa Bay Lightning goalie earned his third straight victory and continued his strong play as this Conference Final progresses. Vasilevskiy had a very shaky start to the series, but has really turned it on during Tampa’s winning streak. Similarly, Tampa Bay were routed by Boston in Game 1 of round two, but rebounded well and... Read More

Evgeny Kuznetsov Sets Postseason Franchise Record

Washington Capitals center scored his team’s first goal in the 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. Although it was in a losing effort, Kuznetsov set a new Capitals franchise record for points in a single postseason with his 22nd point of these playoffs. He’s broken the previous record of 21 points, set... Read More

Evgeny Kuznetsov Ties Playoff Scoring Lead

Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov scored in the second period of Thursday’s Game 4 in Washington. In doing so, he raised his point total to 21, tying the idle Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel for the playoff lead. Kuznetsov also tied a Capitals franchise record for postseason points. With the series tied 2-2 and Kuznetsov... Read More

J.T. Miller Logs First Point Of Series

Tampa Bay Lightning forward J.T. Miller tallied an assist on Tampa’s lone power-play goal in Game 4, finding the score sheet for the first time in the series. Miller finished Round 2 strong with points in each of the last three games against Boston, but he has not been impactful against Washington. Miller was pointless... Read More

Brayden Point Centering New-Look Line

Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper did some line juggling before Thursday’s Game 4. This could be surprising to some, considering his team was coming off a 4-2 win in Game 3, but Cooper and the Lightning knew their play was not at its best and that they shouldn’t rely on power-play success to... Read More

Alex Killorn Nets Game-Winner In Game 4

Tampa Bay Lightning winger Alex Killorn put the Lightning up 3-2 with just over eight minutes remaining in Game 4, and it stood as the game-winner. Killorn corralled a feed from Ondrej Palat from behind the net, moved to his backhand and tucked it between the legs of Capitals goalie Braden Holtby. The goal was... Read More

Nicklas Backstrom Quiet In Return To Lineup

It was only known at pregame warmups that Washington Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom would make his return to the lineup after missing four games due to a hand injury. Head coach Barry Trotz thought better of juggling his top two lines, opting to place Backstrom centering Chandler Stephenson and Brett Connolly on the third line.... Read More

Alex Ovechkin Snakebitten In Game 4

Washington Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin could not find the back of the net in Thursday’s home loss against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He logged three shots on goal in the contest, a number most assuredly diminished by Tampa Bay’s 16 blocked shots. It appeared that the Bolts had been taking notes on his delivery, and... Read More

Andrei Vasilevskiy Turns In Stellar Performance

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made 36 saves on 38 shots to help the Bolts take Game 4 and even the series with the Capitals at 2-2. This was the second straight game Vasilevskiy stopped 36 of 38 shots offered by the Washington Capitals. Vasilevskiy at times was standing on his head, as Washington... Read More

Evgeny Kuznetsov Extends Point Streak With Goal

Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov scored for the second straight game, and has goals in four of his last five contests. Kuznetsov scored on a bad angle shot late in the third period with Braden Holtby on the bench in favour of a sixth skater. The 25-year-old logged a game-high 12 shots on goal in... Read More

Braden Holtby Hampered By Power Plays

Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby was scored on twice by Tampa Bay’s power play, from either side of his crease. The first goal of the game was on the ensuing power play of a tripping penalty Holtby took in the first period. The Lightning were able to capitalize on back-to-back power plays, feeding their snipers... Read More

Andrei Vasilevskiy Has Strong Showing In Game 3

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender had a solid outing in Game 3, stopping 36 of 38 shots faced, including seven of seven on Washington’s three power plays. After being chased from his crease in Game 1 and shelled for six goals in Game 2, Lightning fans breathed a collective sigh of relief in response to Vasilevskiy’s... Read More

Anton Stralman Avoids Suspension

Tampa Bay defenseman Anton Stralman will not face supplemental discipline for his boarding of Washington’s Tom Wilson in the first period of Game 3 on Tuesday. Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post offered some insight on the play, stating, “Typically, on plays where a player sees the hitter approaching and turns his back, and the... Read More

Brayden Point Scores Second Goal Of Series

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brayden Point had another strong outing in Game 3, posting his second straight multi-point game. The 22-year-old factored into the team’s opening goal and late in the second period added an insurance goal, putting the Bolts up three on a quick shot that caught Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby off guard.... Read More

Steven Stamkos Opens Scoring, Briefly Leaves Game 3

Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos put the Bolts on the board on a first-period power play with an absolute rocket of a shot. It was the first time in the series Tampa scored first and the second time a Stamkos marker has given them a lead. Stamkos has goals in all three games of... Read More

Victor Hedman With Postseason High Three-Point Night

Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman scored his first goal of the postseason in Tuesday’s Game 3 victory over the Washington Capitals. He added a pair of power-play assists along with his game-winning goal to notch his first three-point effort of the playoffs. Hedman didn’t find the score sheet at all in the Lightning’s first-round... Read More

Zdeno Chara Played Through Broken Finger

Boston Bruins captain and defenseman Zdeno Chara revealed that he suffered a fractured right index finger in Game 2 of the first round of the playoffs. The 41-year-old scored in the very next game, and dealt with the injury for nine games thereafter. The timeline for Chara’s recovery is six weeks, and hopefully he will... Read More

David Backes Experiencing Concussion-Like Symptoms

Boston Bruins forward David Backes (concussion) was forced from Game 5 after taking a crushing hit from Tampa Bay Lightning winger J.T. Miller. Now it has come out that Backes is still feeling the effects of that hit. This may prove to be a cause for concern, as Backes has a history of concussions, including... Read More

Torey Krug Suffered Broken Ankle In Game 4

In the days after their elimination, the Boston Bruins announced defenseman Torey Krug suffered a fractured ankle in Game 4 of their series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The expected recovery time for Krug, who will not need surgery, is two months. He will be ready for the Bruins training camp come the fall, and... Read More

David Pastrnak Finishes As Bruins Postseason Scoring Leader

Sunday’s Game 5 loss was the only game in the second round in which Boston Bruins winger David Pastrnak did not register a point. He logged a team-high eight shots on goal in 24:29 of ice time. Prior to that, he had one goal and six assists in four games. Pastrnak was a leader for... Read More

Patrice Bergeron Extends Point Streak In Loss

Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron logged an assist on Boston’s lone goal in Game 5, scoring with the man advantage late in the first period. Bergeron found the score sheet in each of the five games of this second-round series. His point streak of six games extends back to Game 7 of the Bruins first-round... Read More

David Krejci Opens Game 5 Scoring On Power Play

In the final minute of the opening period of Game 5, Boston Bruins center David Krejci put Boston on the board with a beautiful one-timer on the power play. The goal was Krejci’s third of the postseason, but just his first of the series. Krejci had a very strong series in the first round, tallying... Read More

Charlie McAvoy Turns In A Series-Best Performance

Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy had a huge game for the Bruins in Game 5 on Sunday. The young blueliner tallied a power play assist on Boston’s lone goal and led the team with four blocks and time on ice with 26:49. The game was easily his best of the postseason and came at a... Read More

Torey Krug To Miss Remainder Of Series

This is awful news for Boston Bruins defenseman Torey Krug. He was forced from Game 4 after sliding hard into the end boards. Though not much has been confirmed, and in the playoffs that’s no surprise, Boston’s team physician released that Krug is dealing with an ankle injury and will not be available to the... Read More