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Your savory breakfast links:
- The playoff matchups were settled at the final horn of the final day of the regular season, and the first round schedules were released the following afternoon. WSH @ BOS it shall be, and the puck drops at TD Garden on Thursday at 7:30pm. [NHL.com, CSNW, @WashCaps, Dump 'n' Chase]
- Must-see teevee. [Puck Daddy]
- First looks at the matchup. [NHL.com, PHT, WaPo, WashTimes, NatPo, RtR, Capitals 101, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, THW, ESPN Boston]
- Scouting reports:
- Goalie storylines: The Caps' usual question mark in goal may in fact be an actual question mark in goal. So sayeth CBC. [CBC.ca]
- X Factors. [NHL.com (Backstrom, Seidenberg)
- Playoffs previewed pugilistically. [Hockeyfights]
- Playoff beard protocols. [Puckhead]
- The Week That Was, Volume 26. [Peerless]
- Final rankings for the Caps Top Six. [KOL]
- Alex Ovechkin's year in review. [Caps Outsider]
- Top Ten regular season games (10 thru 6). [WTOP.com]
- Call it a reprieve, call it parole; mainly just call it the playoffs. [OFB]
- To McPhee or not to McPhee. [DC Sports Chat]
- Here's a neat list of top goal-scorers by barn. AO obviously pwns the record for the VC, but without looking, who lit the Cap Centre's lamps the most? [THW]
- John Carlson and Karl Alzner roomie'd it up again. [Caps365 (video)]
- Looking back at the Varlamov trade. [PHT]
- Congrats are in order for the Caps' ECHL affiliate South Carolina Stingrays, as they outlasted the Gwinnett Gladiators in double OT to win the series 3 games to 1 and advance to the second round of the Kelly Cup playoffs. [Post and Courier]
- Finally, happy 48th birthday to Rick Tocchet.
- Don't forget: Check back frequently today as we'll have plenty of previews, profiles and more coming your way.