Your savory breakfast links:
- The schedule is out at long last and the puck drops Thursday night at 8:00pm Eastern. [Rink]
- Related – The League missed an opportunity to not miss an opportunity with their crummy playoff seedings. Everyone agrees this series is happening seven games too soon. [S&S]
- Welcome to the Sid and Ovi Show! Or not – Alex Ovechkin reminds us that this series will be contested and decided by teams, not individuals. [CSNMA]
- That narrative is old and busted anyway. Here’s some better storylines – like whether Nick Bonino or Braden Holtby has the better beard. And the Tom Wilson vs. Any Penguin That So Much As Looks His Way rivalry has promise. [Pens Labyrinth]
- And (sigh) there’s always the
Traitor McBackstabberEric Fehr Playing Against His Former Team narrative. [WaPo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, RMNB]
- Systems chatter:
- Pens are preparing for a more disciplined, more physical Capitals squad… [WaPo]
- … but will the Caps be ready for PenguinsSpeed™? [CBS PGH]
- … and why does Ovechkin always have a shooting lane on the power play? [HB]
- Stupid successful Caps’ power play. [TribLive, penguins.nhl.com]
- Breaking down the Pens’ breakout vs. the Caps’ forecheck. [Pensburgh]
- This article on Shayne Gostisbehere in Round One is included here because it demonstrates Barry Trotz’s systems skills. [CSNPhilly]
- Three lessons learned and some room from improvement for the Caps from Round One… [WaPo]
- … and here’s 60 seconds of all the Pens’ goals from Round One. [The Pensblog]
- Players and programs:
- Get to Know a Waddlebird – Cullen, Fehr, Hornqvist, Kuhnhackl
- Get to Know a Capital – Burakovsky, Kuznetsov
- No goalie controversy here – with Marc-Andre Fleury still on the shelf, it’s Matt Murray‘s net. [Pensburgh]
- Notes and assorted whatnot from yesterday’s practice out at Kettler:
- In general. [Monumental video (Trotz, Ovechkin, Backstrom, Niskanen, Kuznetsov, Chimera, Beagle, Rinkside Update/Chorney), FiCP (photos)]
- Brooks Orpik returned to the ice in a regular defenseman’s sweater and skated a full practice in a pair with John Carlson , though his availability for Game One is still uncertain… [WaPo, Monumental (video)]
- …. while Karl Alzner did not skate at all and was officially listed as “maintenance day.” [WaPo]
- The Flyers‘ Brayden Schenn received a three-game suspension for charging T.J. Oshie. [theScore]
- Miscellany:
- Coach Trotz spoke with Tommy McFly on 94.7 Fresh FM about the Caps, the playoffs, and his work with the Best Buddies program. [94.7 Fresh FM]
- John Carlson became a video coach while he was rehabbing his lower-body injury earlier this season. [WaPo]
- DO NOT MOVE KUZNETSOV. [@Infamous_2056, theScore]
- Finally, happy 28th birthday to Semyon Varlamov. and happy 29th birthday to Taylor Chorney.