Your savory breakfast links:
- Previews of tonight’s regular season finale from Vogs, NHL.com, AP, RMNB and Peerless, and be sure to check out our SBN pals over at Stanley Cup of Chowder for the other side of tonight’s matchup.
- If you were hoping to spend tonight’s game booing our old friend Jaromir Jagr, you may be out of luck, as the
mercenarynewest Bruin is dealing with a minor flu bug. Yeah, the Caps flu maybe… [ESPN, CSNNE]
- If you were hoping to spend tonight’s game booing our old friend Jaromir Jagr, you may be out of luck, as the
- With the Caps locked in to that third seed, all that remains to be decided is who they’ll face in the first round (which won’t happen until Sunday)… [WaPo, WashTimes, CSNW, NHL.com]
- …and it could still be one of four teams: the Islanders, the Senators, the Maple Leafs and the Rangers. [WaPo (Isles, Sens, Leafs, Rangers)]
- Be careful. Prolonged perusal of playoff positioning potentially produces pains in the posterior. Phew. [WashTimes]
- News and notes from yesterday’s practice out at Kettler:
- In general. [Monumental video (Rinkside Update, Brouwer, Holtby, Hendricks, Ward)]
- Great news on the eve of a visit from Boston, as the man who knocked them out of the playoffs last year skated today and is eyeing a return in Game 1 of the playoffs. Yay, Big Cheese! [WashTimes, CSNW]
- Speaking of people who helped bounce the Bruins last spring, Braden Holtby gets the start tonight and is looking to get his rhythm back. [WashTimes]
- Since NHL referees don’t like to get called #$!@#&$@%ers (go figure), the Caps should probably pipe down just a bit. And perhaps not mock-applaud… although lol Chimera. [CSNW, PHT]
- A few leftovers from Thursday night’s loss, including another look at Alex Ovechkin‘s 32nd goal of the year and some thoughts from the boss on watching a stress-free game for once. [NBCW, Alex Ovetjkin, Ted’s Take]
- That goal by the captain was his 14th goal of the month, the first time he’s had that many in one month since October 2009 – and a new NHL record for April. Take that, Mario. [NHL.com]
- Checking in on the race for the Hart Trophy for the eleventy billionth time. Can we just have the awards tomorrow and be done with it? [Globe and Mail]
- Hershey Bears! Playoffs!!
- The Bears opened their first round all-ursine series against the big, bad (Providence) Bruins last night and rode a strong start to a 5-2 victory, taking Game 1 in decisive fashion. Woo! [PennLive, LDNews, SHOE, SCoC]
- Joey Crabb (remember him?) checks in after the win [PennLive (video)]
- Congratulations to Philipp Grubauer, who backstopped the team to victory and picked up his first career AHL playoff win. [PennLive]
- Meanwhile in the OHL, Caps’ prospects Tom Wilson and Connor Carrick unfortunately saw their season come to an end after falling to the London Knights in overtime. [CTV London, Metro]
- Despite the loss, both Wilson and Carrick had a strong postseason showing for the Plymouth Whalers. [OHL, RMNB]
- With the number to be determined later-th pick in the 2013 draft, the Washington Capitals select… [NHL.com (Morreale, Hoffner, Kimelman)].
- Good news, Baltimoreans – after a brief departure, the Baltimore Hockey Classic will be back when the Caps host the Bruins at 1st Mariner Arena on September 17. [Caps, Baltimore Sun, PHT]
- Gary Bettman says that the NHL is thriving despite losing half a season due to the pissing conte-, er, lockout. And really, it’s not like he has a reason to lie or anything… right? [AP]
- How one devoted hockey fan chose the magic of a Caps’ playoff game over the White House Correspondent’s Dinner. Related, hockey games should totally be black tie. [PuckBuddys]
- Finally, happy 25th birthday to Semyon Varlamov.