Your savory breakfast links:
- Recaps and other assorted musings on yesterday’s victory from us, Monumental video (Trotz, Burakovsky, Holtby, Carlson, Orpik, Brouwer, Beagle, AV, Rangers room), Vogs (plus game notes), NHL.com, WaPo (gamer, photos, best/worst), WashTimes, CSNW (gamer, blog), Puck Daddy (and again), PHT, NatPo, AP, THN, SI, Eye on Hockey, theScore, Frankovic, RMNB (gamer, game blogs), DSP, and Blueshirt Banter, Blue Seat Blogs, Rangers Review, doinow, Lohud.
- Andre Burakovsky, we’d like you to meet NHL. NHL, we’d like you to meet the Burracuda. [ESPN, theScore, WashTimes, TSN, NHL.com, WaPo, CBC, RMNB (and again)]
- From Elias: Rookie Andre Burakovsky scored both goals for the Capitals in their 2-1 win in Game Four of their second-round series against the Rangers. Burakovsky’s first goal, the first of his playoff career, tied the score at 1-1 late in the second period and his second goal, which came 24 seconds into the third period, was the game-winner for the Capitals, who now hold a three-games-to-one lead in the series. In the last 75 years only one other rookie recorded a multiple-goal performance while scoring every one of his team’s goals in a Stanley Cup playoff game win by his team. That was Gilbert Dionne in the Canadiens‘ 2-0 victory in Game One of their 1992 first-round series against the Hartford Whalers.
- Held by Braden Holtby … [PHT, mdkss12 Instagram, RMNB, @DownGoesBrown, @CCMHockey]
- … the Big Game goaltender. [Eye on Hockey, NBC (video)]
- From Elias: Braden Holtby made 28 saves in his 2-1 victory against the Rangers on Wednesday, the most important of which was on Carl Hagelin’s penalty shot in the third period. It’s the fourth time that a NHL goaltender has recorded a playoff win by a one-goal margin in a game in which he allowed no more than one goal and also faced an unsuccessful penalty shot. The other goaltenders with playoff wins of that kind are the Rangers’ Mike Richter in 1990 (Game One vs. Islanders), Pittsburgh’s Ken Wregget in a four-overtime marathon in 1996 (Game Four at Washington), and Buffalo’s Dominik Hasek in 2011 (Game One at Philadelphia).
- #dcRising. Thrice Harper and numerous Nationals teammates unleashed some sportsbro fury at the Verizon Center. [Monumental (video), WaPo, CSNW, CBS Sports, Extra Mustard]
- Andre Burakovsky, we’d like you to meet NHL. NHL, we’d like you to meet the Burracuda. [ESPN, theScore, WashTimes, TSN, NHL.com, WaPo, CBC, RMNB (and again)]
- Hmm. Playing playoffs hockey, when you are playing hockey in the hockey-playing playoffs, might actually work. [WaPo, WashTimes]
- Notes from the Rangers‘ end of the ice:
- “…then came this series, against a team that streaks around the ice like fire ants, a nuisance in every sense.” [NYT]
- The hill just keeps getting steeper, and the rock heavier. [NYDN]
- “It feels,” said center Derick Brassard, who scored the Rangers’ lone goal, “like they have an answer for everything.” [NJ.com]
- No more time for platitudes. Better start scoring. [NY Post]
- Is Alain Vigneault – sorry, Adams Finalist Alain Vigneault – getting out-coached? [Blue Seat Blogs]
- Now they tell us: Why the Caps are the worst possible opponents for the NYR. [THW]
- A few notes from pregame:
- How Barry Trotz learned to keep his cool. [CBS DC]
- The evolution of Evgeny Kuznetsov and his unlikely mentor. [NatPo]
- Blocking shots the Capitals way. [WaPo]
- Matt Niskanen wields a mean stick. Ask anyone about his pokes. [WaPo]
- Hershey dropped Game One of its second round series with the Hartford Wolfpack. In overtime. On a goal by Chris Bourque. With an assist by Joey Crabb. [Patriot-News]
- The South Carolina Stingrays had the chance to close out their series with the Florida Everblades, but fell in triple overtime. Here’s what an ECHL building looks like in triple OT.
- Finally, happy 59th birthday to Tony Cassolato and happy 36th to Lawrence Nycholat.
- One more:
Thursday @washingtonpost @PostSports front all about … #DeflateGate #Nationals #BryceHarper #RockTheRed #Capitals pic.twitter.com/ZvYE7TSd8d
— Dan Worthington (@danWorthington) May 7, 2015