Blue Jackets at Capitals
Few teams can match the regular-season success of the Washington Capitals over the past few years, but Alex Ovechkin and company are more concerned with erasing a lengthy history of playoff flops. Coming off its third consecutive Metropolitan Division title, Washington will face a familiar rival when it hosts the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night in Game 1 of their first-round series.
The Capitals have not been to the Stanley Cup Final since 1998 and were drummed out of the playoffs in the second round in each of the past three seasons despite winning the Presidents' Trophy in back-to-back campaigns. “It feels a lot different than it has in the past,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said of this season's team. “There was, sort of, a time where we got frustrated sometimes with our own guys in the past. This team just played. I think we feel ready.” The Blue Jackets, who finished eight points behind Washington in the division, have never won a postseason series but they closed on a 13-2-2 run to reach the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time. “We all need to step up even more,” forward Boone Jenner said. “We found a way to get into the playoffs and that was the main thing. Now we have a chance to play. We want to keep contributing any way we can.”
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET; USA, Sportsnet360, TVAS, FS Ohio (Columbus), NBCS Washington
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (45-30-7, 4th in Metropolitan): Columbus was unable to get its offense untracked for much of the season, but a trio of trade-deadline acquisitions -- forwards Thomas Vanek, Mark Letestu and defenseman Ian Cole -- were vital in the late-season surge. "I knew we had a better team than what was going on," Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno said. "We just had to find a way to get those pieces in the right spot. Once the trade deadline hit, it's almost like it allowed us to put those pieces in the right spot and we took off." Columbus averaged more than a goal per game following the deals, but it must receive better play against Washington from two-time Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky, who has notched 78 wins over the past two seasons but was 1-3-0 with a 3.04 goals-against average and .868 save percentage versus the Capitals.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (49-26-7, 1st in Metropolitan): Ovechkin rebounded from a 33-goal campaign in 2016-17 to pump in 49 this season to claim his seventh Rocket Richard Trophy, but he also is one of seven players in this postseason to appear in 1,000 games and not win the Stanley Cup. However, the Russian standout is storyline No. 2 for Washington following the decision by Trotz to bypass longtime No. 1 netminder Braden Holtby in favor of backup Philipp Grubauer, who will make only his second postseason start in Game 1. "I think the body of work, especially this year, presented itself. Trust me, it wasn't an easy decision," Trotz said of starting Grubauer, who went 7-3-0 with a 2.31 goals-against average down the stretch. "We're very fortunate we've got two really good goaltenders right now, and I think that puts us in a real good spot."
OVERTIME
1. Capitals C Evgeny Kuznetsov amassed a career-best 83 points, including 28 over the final 18 games.
2. Blue Jackets F Artemi Panarin ended the season on a tear, collecting 29 of his team-high 82 points over the last 16 games.
3. Washington won six straight games in the series until Columbus posted a 5-1 home win on Feb. 26.