ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) Alex Ovechkin scored early and Andre Burakovsky added two second-period goals to help the Washington Capitals put a decade of playoff frustration behind them with a 4-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final Wednesday night.
Braden Holtby stopped 29 shots for his second straight shutout and the Lightning, who led the NHL in goals during the regular season, failed to score in the last 159 minutes, 27 seconds - a stretch of nearly eight periods.
Ovechkin, who had never played a team that advanced beyond the second round, scored 1:02 into the winner-take-all showdown he had described as probably the ''biggest game in my life.''
Nicklas Backstrom had an empty-netter to complete the rout.
To earn a spot in the Stanley Cup Final, where they'll play the Vegas Golden Knights, the Capitals beat the top-seeded Lightning three times on the road, improving to 8-2 away from home this postseason.
It's Washington's first Cup Final appearance since 1998, and the first during Ovechkin's 13-year career.
The Toronto Maple Leafs promoted Brandon Pridham to the assistant general manager role in an announcement Wednesday, a day after mutually agreeing to part ways with former assistant general manager Mark Hunter.
Longtime NHL goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck was named the assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey on Wednesday, taking over for the late Jim Johansson.
"I'm really humbled and honored to have this opportunity," Vanbiesbrouck said. "I look forward to building on the foundation that has been put in place by Art Berglund and Jim Johannson, among others, and while I know I have much to learn, it's a challenge that I'm really excited about."
Most recently, Vanbiesbrouck served as the general manager and director of hockey operations for the United States Hockey League's Muskegon Lumberjacks.
The Detroit, Mich., native will be tasked with oversight of all of USA Hockey's international programs, including its men's, women's, and sled programs, as well as the National Junior Development Program.
"It is really exciting to get someone with John's background," said Jim Smith, president of USA Hockey. "He brings a unique perspective, including being a key volunteer for our organization for the last year eight years."
During a playing career that saw him appear in 882 games over 20 seasons, Vanbiesbrouck was a two-time NHL All-Star and a two-time Vezina Trophy finalist, winning the award in 1985-86. He's probably best remembered for his play during the 1996 playoffs, in which he posted a .932 save percentage and a 2.25 goals-against average as he carried the underdog Florida Panthers all the way to the Stanley Cup Final.
The Rangers fired former head coach Alain Vigneault on the final Saturday night of the NHL's regular season after missing the playoffs for the first time since 2009-10.
Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper is enjoying every second in the lead-up of a winner-take-all Game 7 against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday.
"There's a lot of teams that would love to be in our position, you're writing history," he told Fox Sports' Caley Chelios. "If you're not enjoying it, you're not human."
History certainly will be made, as Wednesday's victor will have a chance to take on the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final. Though unlikely, it's possible star players such as Alex Ovechkin and Steven Stamkos never get this close to the Cup again, so Game 7s can leave a lasting impact on the legacy of a team or player.
The Lightning, however, have been vastly outplayed in this series. They've been outshot in every game so far, and the total shots in the series are 209-145 in Washington's favor. Given that Andrei Vasilevskiy might have to steal yet another game for the Bolts to be victorious, it's surprising Cooper is so at ease.
Cooper owns a lifetime record of 2-1 in Game 7s as an NHL coach. Puck drop is set for 8 p.m. ET.
It appears Toby Enstrom's time as a member of the Winnipeg Jets could be over, and it if that's the case, it ended on salty terms.
Tied with Bryan Little as the longest-serving player on the Jets/Atlanta Thrashers - dating all the way back to 2007-08 - Enstrom was a healthy scratch in Game 5 against the Vegas Golden Knights, which turned out to be the team's final game of their season.
Enstrom was reportedly unhappy with head coach Paul Maurice's decision to leave him out of the lineup because he'd been playing through the series with a rib injury, according to Jeff Hamilton and Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press.
One anonymous source told Hamilton and McIntyre that Enstrom suffered broken ribs, but didn't say when the ailment occurred.
Maurice refuted this notion, however, when asked whether Enstrom played through broken ribs.
"No, he had dealt with broken bones in his feet during the year. But nothing broken," Maurice said, per Hamilton and McIntyre.
Jets players had their final exit meetings with coaches and management and met with the media during locker clean-out Tuesday, but Enstrom was nowhere to be found. Reporters who requested to speak with him were told he was "long gone."
Enstrom was one of three regulars to be scratched from the lineup for Game 5, along with fellow defenseman Ben Chiarot and forward Andrew Copp. Dmitry Kulikov, Joe Morrow, and Joel Armia stepped in instead. Maurice said he was "looking for some legs and for some jump" after his team had lost three straight.
The 2017-18 campaign was the last season of a five-year contract carrying a $5.75-million average annual value for Enstrom. A two-time 50-point defenseman, he was a shell of his former self over the last four seasons, suffering numerous injuries and never regaining his offensive form. He had just six points in 43 games this year.
Given the Jets' depth on the blue line - including 21-year-old Sami Niku, who was named the AHL's top defenseman in 2017-18 - a return to Winnipeg seems highly unlikely for Enstrom, and if so, it certainly didn't end the way he had hoped.
Mark Hunter insists he hasn't discussed the possibility of joining the Islanders with Lou Lamoriello, the former Toronto Maple Leafs GM who was named New York's president of hockey operations Tuesday.
“Isn’t it quick how people want to (make those connections?)” Hunter said with a chuckle to the Toronto Sun's Terry Koshan on Tuesday night. “There is nothing to that. I have not talked to Lou. Lou has a million things going on right now. He has bigger fish.”
Hunter called the Leafs GM position "a job you dream of" and expressed disappointment with not being tabbed as the next one, but said he understood team president Brendan Shanahan's decision to promote Kyle Dubas.
“No, I don’t get bitter,” Hunter said. “People make decisions and Shanny had his reasons. (I) feel good about what has happened with the team, where we have gone and where we can go. Sure, it’s disappointing. But we all make decisions and move ahead and don’t look back.”
He has a non-compete agreement that will prevent other teams from hiring him until July 15.
Dubas was named Toronto's GM earlier this month, following Lamoriello's departure in late April.
Hunter parted ways with the Leafs on Tuesday morning, in a revelation that came about an hour before Lamoriello was officially appointed to his new role.
The former assistant GM served in Toronto's front office for about three-and-a-half years, beginning as director of player personnel in the fall of 2014 and becoming co-interim GM along with Dubas when Dave Nonis was fired in April 2015.
WASHINGTON – A Game 7 separates the Washington Capitals from their first Stanley Cup Final appearance in 20 years – and there’s no one else head coach Barry Trotz would rather go into battle with.
“Going into Game 7, I don’t think I would want another – and I’ve been doing this for a while – I don’t think there’s a team I’ve ever had that I’d want to go into a Game 7 with,” Trotz said Tuesday. “This team has done a lot of special things this year, it’s grown, it continues to do that.”
Down 3-2 in the Eastern Conference Final series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Capitals forced a Game 7 with a decisive 3-0 victory in Game 6. It was certainly Braden Holtby's best performance of the series and perhaps Washington’s best game of the playoffs.
It could have been the end of their season, but the Capitals made sure that wasn't the case. And, as if it hadn’t been evident enough throughout the playoffs, these are not the same Capitals of the past.
“I don’t think we mentally in our mind think about what people say,” star winger Alex Ovechkin said. “Lots of people say we’re going to lose to Columbus. Lots of people say we’re going to lose to Pittsburgh. Lots of people said we’re going to lose to Tampa. (Wednesday) is the biggest probably game in my life and in this team, this organization. We just want to be here and want to come back here to Game 7 and win the game.”
The last two years were supposed to be their coronation as the Presidents’ Trophy winner, each time snuffed by the Penguins in the postseason. Where those iterations might have buckled under adversity and the pressure of expectations, these Capitals thrive, having won the division despite struggling through the first quarter of the season.
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
It was a remarkable feat for a team that could have easily circled the drain after starting off so badly – and one that looked rather ordinary after losing plenty of talent over the summer.
“I said to my wife, 'on paper we’re not as good this year, but watch: this will be the year we do something,'” defenseman Matt Niskanen said. “That’s just the way it works. Hockey's a funny sport. That just proves how names on a piece of paper don’t win. It’s how guys play together. A lot of things have to go right, big goals, big saves, a bounce here or there. But we’re one step away and guys are excited for the opportunity.”
Each time it seems the knockout blow has been struck, the Capitals counterpunch even harder. When they were down 0-2 to the Blue Jackets in the first round, they responded by winning four straight to move on, where the Penguins waited. In that series, they were without two of their top-six forwards for several games – and when they had a chance to eliminate Pittsburgh on the road, they did it.
“Can’t tell you the exact moment or why it happened, but something felt different about it,” Niskanen said. “I just think that our ability to respond, our ability to stay with it is so much better this spring. We just play.”
History hasn’t been on Washington’s side in series-deciding games. During Ovechkin’s career, the Capitals are 3-7 in Game 7s – but this one is different from all the rest, just like the Capitals.
“Well, of course you have dreams, you have thoughts, you have all different stuff before the year or before the playoffs and right now you’re in this position and you just don’t want to give up this opportunity,” Ovechkin said. “It’s not going to be easy. It’s not going to be like a regular-season game, OK, tomorrow we’re going to have another one and we can bounce back. (Wednesday) is going to be the biggest game in our life, maybe.”
