Washington — Off the ice after beating the Boston Bruins 2-0 on Monday night and looking at the results of other games around the NHL, Washington Capitals players in turn said it didn't matter. We argued.
“We take care of our job and we know where we're going to end up,” goaltender Charlie Lindgren said after the 16-save shutout.
One more win and we'll be in the playoffs.
John Carlson scored another big goal, Lindgren made one crucial stop after another, and Nick Dowd scored on an empty-netter with 11.7 seconds left, regardless of the other outcome, Tuesday night. A win in Philadelphia would send Washington back to the playoffs.
“It's in our hands and that's the best way to go about it,” All-Star winger Tom Wilson said.
If the Capitals advance, they will become the second wild card in the Eastern Conference after the New York Islanders took third place in the Metropolitan Division and will face the Presidents Trophy-winning New York Rangers. It turns out.
Boston also still has unfinished business in its final regular-season game Tuesday night at home against Ottawa. Florida won the Atlantic Division title by just one point. The Bruins could have beaten the Caps and won, but they couldn't match the urgency of an opponent fighting for a playoff spot.
“I think the word 'struggled' is a compliment to how we played. I thought Washington's desperation, how well they played defense and how they hung on to the puck in the offensive zone was how we played,” coach Jim Montgomery said. ” he said. I wanted to play. ”
No player epitomizes that intensity for Washington more than Dylan Strome. He won faceoffs, controlled the puck and exploded for Karlsson's goal in the opening 12 minutes. Strome is hoping for his first NHL playoff experience with fans in the stands. Outside the pandemic bubble.
The same goes for Lindgren, who delivered yet another impressive performance when the team needed him most. It's the same as many games after that. Lindgren stopped Bruins 47-goal scorer David Pastrnak multiple times and made other efforts to maintain the lead, including stopping Andrew Peake, Charlie McAvoy and Patrick Maroon in the third period with eight minutes remaining. A quality opportunity was missed.
“Chuckie came up with big stops sporadically throughout the game,” Carlson said. “And when things get this tough, that’s a huge deal.”
Jeremy Swayman was outstanding in Boston's goal, making 23 saves, including a sliding stop on All-Star Tom Wilson in the second period and one save on Alex Ovechkin on the penalty kill in the third period.
“I thought he was very good. He gave us a chance,” Montgomery said. It wasn't. Swayman will be the biggest bright spot. ”
The Capitals played without two injured defensemen, forcing rookie Vincent Iorio and minor league call-up Dylan McIras to start. Carlson finished Game 81 in a game-high 29 minutes, 34 seconds. Late in the second period, Bruins lost depth winger Bec Marenstine to an upper-body injury on a hit by big forward Trent Frederick.
New York Islanders 4, (at) New Jersey 1: Kyle Palmieri and Brock Nelson each had a goal and an assist as Patrick Roy's New York Islanders defeated New Jersey and clinched one of the Eastern Conference's two remaining playoff berths.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Kyle MacLean also scored, and the Islanders secured third place in the Metropolitan Division and qualified for the postseason for the fifth time in six seasons. Semyon Varlamov made 23 saves for his fifth straight win and helped New York extend its winning streak to eight games (7-0-1).
Timo Meier scored for the Devils, who scored a franchise-record 112 points but missed the playoffs by a year. Jake Allen made 14 saves in New Jersey's final game of the season.
Buffalo 4, Tampa Bay 2: Dylan Cozens scored twice and Buffalo ended a disappointing season with a win over playoff-bound Tampa Bay.
Jordan Greenway and Zach Benson also scored for the Sabers, who would miss the playoffs for an NHL-record 13th consecutive season.
Lightning captain Steven Stamkos reached the 40-goal mark for the seventh time in his NHL career, Erik Cernak scored midway through the third period and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves for Tampa Bay, his first in the Eastern League. It is now certain that the game will end with a wild card. meeting.
(at) Pittsburgh 4, Nashville 2: Sidney Crosby scored his 42nd goal and added an assist as Pittsburgh kept its playoff hopes alive with a win over Nashville.
Erik Karlsson also had a goal and an assist for the Penguins, and Riley Smith and Emil Bemstrom also scored. Alex Nedeljkovic made 28 saves in his 12th straight start for Pittsburgh, which remains one point behind Washington and Detroit for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Filip Forsberg scored his franchise-record 48th point and Gustav Nyquist added his 23rd, but playoff-bound Nashville missed out on a chance to clinch the Western Conference's top wild card. Juuse Saros stopped 34 shots, but the Predators fell just short of the franchise's seventh 100-point season in 25 seasons.
(at) New York Rangers 5, Ottawa 0: Artemi Panarin had a goal and an assist, Igor Shesterkin made 26 saves for his fourth shutout of the season, and the New York Rangers beat Ottawa on Monday night for the NHL's best regular-season record. Won the Residents Trophy.
Jack Roslovic, Adam Fox and Alexis Lafreniere also scored, and Chris Kreider also had two assists as the Rangers won a league-high 55th game, finished with a franchise-record 114 points and missed the playoffs. Through this, they were able to gain home ice advantage.
New York won for the fifth time in seven games and is 26-7-1 in its last 34 games. They previously won the Presidents Trophy in 1991-92, 1993-94 (their only Stanley Cup championship since 1940) and 2014-15.
playoff tracker
atlantic ocean
▶ Bruins (109)
▶ Panthers (108)
▶ Maple leaves (102)
metropolitan
▶ Rangers (114)
▶ Hurricane (111)
▶ Islanders (92)
Wildcard
▶ Lightning (96)
▶ Capital (89)
(Top 2 wild card teams advance to playoffs)
▶ Red Wings (89)
▶ Penguin (88)
▶ Flyers (87)
▶ Sabers (84)
▶ Devils (81)
If the playoffs start on Monday
Eastern Conference Playoffs bracket
▶ (1M) Rangers vs. Capitals (WC2)
▶ (A2) Panthers vs. Maple Leafs (A3)
▶ (1A) Bruins vs. Lightning (WC1)
▶ (2M) Hurricanes vs. (3M) Islanders
Remaining games of wild card race
Islanders (92)
▶ Home (1): penguin
▶ far away (0): none
Capital (89 points)
▶ Home(0): none
▶ Away (1): Flyer
red wing (89)
▶ Home(0): none
▶ Away (1): Canadian
Penguin (88)
▶ Home(0): non 4
▶ Away (1): islanders
Flyer (87 points)
▶ Home (1): capital
▶ far away (0)
Two UM players earn first-team honors
Michigan defenseman Seamus Casey and forward Gavin Brindley have been named first-team West All-Americans by the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA).
Michigan forward Rutger McGroarty and MSU defenseman Artyom Levshunov were named second-team East All-Americans.
Michigan area hockey this week
Monday
▶ Red Wings 5, Montreal 4 (OT)
Tuesday
▶ Red Wings, Montreal, 7 (BSD/950)
Wednesday
▶ Grand Rapids, Iowa, 8 (AHL/106.9/1300)
Friday
▶ Grand Rapids, Iowa, 8 (AHL/96.1)
Saturday
▶ NTDP U18s vs. Sweden in Finland, U18 World Exhibition
Sunday
▶ Milwaukee at Grand Rapids, 5 (AHL/106.9/1300)
