NHL on NBC: Bruins at Capitals
Boston Bruins at Washington Capitals
Two playoff-bound squads will get their last regular-season tuneup when the Bruins face the Capitals in Washington Sunday afternoon.
There was talk about this matchup being a first-round playoff preview, but Boston will not finish any lower than seventh in the East Conference standings. Washington will likely face the winner of Sunday's Flyers-Rangers game in the opening round of the playoffs.
Headed to the dance
Boston finally locked up a playoff spot Saturday afternoon with a 4-2 victory over the Hurricanes.
The Bruins scored three shorthanded goals on the same penalty kill early in the second period to build a 3-0 lead. Carolina cut the Boston lead to 3-2 before the second intermission, but the Bruins iced the game and their postseason berth with an empty-netter by Milan Lucic.
Boston has been banged up badly in recent weeks. The Bruins have lost play-making centre Marc Savard and defensemen Mark Stuart, Andrew Ference and Dennis Seidenberg to injury since the end of April.
"They might... bring up all of Providence to play," Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said Saturday before knowing the Bruins had clinched a playoff spot. "They've gotten a few injuries."
Some incentive
The Capitals clinched top spot in the NHL standings long ago, but they do have a few things to play for Sunday.
A victory would set a franchise record for home wins in a season (31), while forward Alexander Ovechkin is trying to win both the Rocket Richard (most goals) and Art Ross (most points) trophies.
In addition, forward Alexander Semin is shooting for his 40th goal of the year and defenseman Mike Green is seeking his 20th marker.
The Caps are also looking to tighten up their game heading into the playoffs. Last year, Washington ended the campaign with a 7-4 loss in Florida and players felt the defeat had lingering effects in the postseason.
"We've been trying to play a different game as far as defensively and play strong going into the playoffs," Green said. "Last year we lost 7-4 to Florida going into the playoffs and then our first game of the playoffs was not very good. If we can play a solid game (Sunday) and lead into the playoffs, that's what we want to do."
OT for OV?
Ovechkin might see some extra ice time Sunday as he tries to finish the season with the most points and goals in the league.
The Russian sniper held a one-point lead over Vancouver's Henrik Sedin and a one-goal lead over Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby in those departments, going into Saturday's action.
Sedin and the Canucks play their final game Saturday night so Ovechkin will know how many points he needs before taking the ice Sunday. Crosby and the Penguins play both Saturday and Sunday.
"It is what it is, and I think anybody who follows hockey knows that it is pretty close in some individual stuff," said Caps coach Bruce Boudreau, who played Ovechkin more than 23 minutes Friday against Atlanta. "If you can help your players to get to that point without hurting the team, then I think it is prudent as a coach to let them try."
Recent meetings
Washington has won the first three meetings with Boston this season, outscoring the Bruins 11-4 in the process.
The Capitals defeated Boston 3-2 in a shootout Monday.
The home team has won nine of the last 12 games in the series and the under is 33-15-4 in the last 52 meetings. Boston is 0-5 in its last five games in Washington.
Boston Bruins at Washington Capitals
Two playoff-bound squads will get their last regular-season tuneup when the Bruins face the Capitals in Washington Sunday afternoon.
There was talk about this matchup being a first-round playoff preview, but Boston will not finish any lower than seventh in the East Conference standings. Washington will likely face the winner of Sunday's Flyers-Rangers game in the opening round of the playoffs.
Headed to the dance
Boston finally locked up a playoff spot Saturday afternoon with a 4-2 victory over the Hurricanes.
The Bruins scored three shorthanded goals on the same penalty kill early in the second period to build a 3-0 lead. Carolina cut the Boston lead to 3-2 before the second intermission, but the Bruins iced the game and their postseason berth with an empty-netter by Milan Lucic.
Boston has been banged up badly in recent weeks. The Bruins have lost play-making centre Marc Savard and defensemen Mark Stuart, Andrew Ference and Dennis Seidenberg to injury since the end of April.
"They might... bring up all of Providence to play," Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said Saturday before knowing the Bruins had clinched a playoff spot. "They've gotten a few injuries."
Some incentive
The Capitals clinched top spot in the NHL standings long ago, but they do have a few things to play for Sunday.
A victory would set a franchise record for home wins in a season (31), while forward Alexander Ovechkin is trying to win both the Rocket Richard (most goals) and Art Ross (most points) trophies.
In addition, forward Alexander Semin is shooting for his 40th goal of the year and defenseman Mike Green is seeking his 20th marker.
The Caps are also looking to tighten up their game heading into the playoffs. Last year, Washington ended the campaign with a 7-4 loss in Florida and players felt the defeat had lingering effects in the postseason.
"We've been trying to play a different game as far as defensively and play strong going into the playoffs," Green said. "Last year we lost 7-4 to Florida going into the playoffs and then our first game of the playoffs was not very good. If we can play a solid game (Sunday) and lead into the playoffs, that's what we want to do."
OT for OV?
Ovechkin might see some extra ice time Sunday as he tries to finish the season with the most points and goals in the league.
The Russian sniper held a one-point lead over Vancouver's Henrik Sedin and a one-goal lead over Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby in those departments, going into Saturday's action.
Sedin and the Canucks play their final game Saturday night so Ovechkin will know how many points he needs before taking the ice Sunday. Crosby and the Penguins play both Saturday and Sunday.
"It is what it is, and I think anybody who follows hockey knows that it is pretty close in some individual stuff," said Caps coach Bruce Boudreau, who played Ovechkin more than 23 minutes Friday against Atlanta. "If you can help your players to get to that point without hurting the team, then I think it is prudent as a coach to let them try."
Recent meetings
Washington has won the first three meetings with Boston this season, outscoring the Bruins 11-4 in the process.
The Capitals defeated Boston 3-2 in a shootout Monday.
The home team has won nine of the last 12 games in the series and the under is 33-15-4 in the last 52 meetings. Boston is 0-5 in its last five games in Washington.
