Your savory breakfast links:
- Previews of Game 6 from Vogs, NHL.com, AP, CSNW, and be sure to check out our SB Nation pals over at Lighthouse Hockey for the other side of today’s matchup.
- It’s do or die for the Isles, as the Caps look to eliminate an opponent in fewer than seven games. [CSNW, Isles, Newsday]
- As such, the Caps are expecting a very difficult battle. [WaPo]
- After taking a hit from Troy Brouwer in Game 5, Islanders‘ blueliner Calvin de Haan becomes the latest casualty of an increasingly physical series. [NHL.com]
- Weakened blueline or not, the Caps aren’t buying the Islanders as underdogs. [CSNW]
- Bidding farewell to the old barn:
- Whether or not the Caps win today, they won’t be making the trek out to Nassau Coliseum anymore after this one. [Monumental video, Caps Outsider, Islanders Point Blank]
- It’s a well-worn path, to be sure. [Rink]
- For those lucky people who attend, they’ll have the comforting presence of extra security. Gee, wonder why. [Islanders Point Blank]
- And apparently the pleasure of sitting next to a plain-clothes cop isn’t the hot ticket one would think it is. [Forbes]
- That is, if you can even find a place to sit… right, Ovi?
Asked Alex Ovechkin about closing Nassau Coliseum: ‘It’s our job, you know?. … I’m going to probably take a chair.’ #CapitalsTalk
— Chuck Gormley (@ChuckGormleyCSN) April 24, 2015
- After a breakout game Thursday night, Evgeny Kuznetsov is the Caps’ newest star – and he was well worth the wait. [Caps, THW]
- Hockey is usually a young man’s game, but with whippersnappers like Kuznetsov stepping to the forefront, this postseason has been like one big episode of Rugrats. [Grantland, Pressbox DC]
- A few more leftovers from Thursday’s 5-1 victory for the good guys. [Dump ‘n Chase, Talk the Red, Stars and Sticks]
- What worked (hint: lots) and what didn’t (hint: not lots) in Game 5. [Rink]
- The turning point of the game. [Stars and Sticks]
- Smiles, hugs, flying gloves, Michael Latta gnawing on a stick… the pictures from this one are truly epic. [Rink]
- Each team has earned a win in the other team’s barn, leading some to believe home ice advantage hasn’t been a factor. Spoiler alert: it has been. [Rink]
- News and notes from the Caps’ room:
- In general. [Monumental video (Trotz, Ovechkin, Holtby, Rinkside Update/Laich)]
- The Caps hold a 3-2 series lead in part because of their improved defense… [NHL.com]
- …and probably in part because of their improved grittiness under new bench boss Barry Trotz. [Toronto Sun]
- The other night, Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin were held off of the scoresheet. Thanks to secondary scoring, it didn’t matter. [WaPo]
- The game plan for next game? Keep it simple, stupid. [CSNW]
- Tom Wilson didn’t just expect a physical backlash from the Islanders after his hit in Game 4 – he welcomed it. [WashTimes]
- A series of strong mentors and teachers – along with a serious amount of talent – have helped Braden Holtby find peace in the crease. [WaPo]
- He may be making his playoff debut, but rookie Andre Burakovsky is thriving thanks to increasing confidence… and a touch of naivete. [WaPo]
- After a bit of a lull, Caps fans are back to blowing the roof off of a rocking Verizon Center; magic, indeed. [RMNB]
- Updates from the New York state of mind:
- The Isles’ blueline has been decimated by injuries, but as the series nears its end one way or another, it’s their offense that has struggled. [CBS NY]
- If they want to avoid elimination, the Islanders should probably focus more on scoring goals and less on getting revenge. [LHH]
- For some Islanders fans, this series has taken on a nostalgic quality. [Islanders Point Blank]
- For others, the frustrating sense of a team and a fanbase that has made headlines for all the wrong reasons. [LHH]
- The AHL playoffs are underway, and the Hershey Bears took a 1-0 series lead against the Worcester Sharks thanks to some stellar goaltending and timely goals. [Patriot-News, StarsandSticks]
- Good news! The winner of this series will have the great fortune of facing… the Rangers. Feels like the Caps have played them a time or two thousand. [NHL.com, CSNW, AP, THW]