The Capitals are done. Long die the Caps.
The teams are dwindling in the NHL playoffs and we’re down to one game per night, as another unit accepted elimination — the Capitals falling to the Hurricanes, in accordance with the prophecies — while a couple more are on the brink.
In contracts to D.C., the Jets staved off elimination with a 4-0 shutout of the Stars in Winnipeg, a meeting that got dirty at the end as Jamie Benn did Jamie Benn things.
And after Toronto’s humiliation at home, the Leafs face elimination in Florida for Game 6 in Friday night’s only match.
- The GM search: Oh, please, don’t give me this Shanahan business. [Athletic]
- Not that he’s an Islander (yet), but Matthew Schaefer is all good after surgery. [NHL]
- Do you have your BRING HAGENS HOME sticker yet? [THN]
Elsewhere
- Rick Tocchet is Philadelphia’s new coach, as widely assumed. [NHL]
- In Vancouver he’s replaced by Adam Foote, (whose son is also in the news!) [NHL] Foote “has some ideas,” so that’s a start. [NHL]
- And yes, Kenny Holland is the GM for the Kings, sparing us all. [NHL]
- The Maple Leafs were embarrassed at home in a Game 5 that their lovely media called the biggest in a quarter century. [Sportsnet | Athletic]
- A pre-written obituary for the Leafs’ “core four.” [Athletic]
- But wait! They’re not dead yet! (Also, on Trash Doesn’t Fall Far from the Trash Tree Domi: “Berube has stood by Domi all year, even through multiple goal droughts that lasted more than 20 games and the worst (tied with Ryan Strome) penalty differential of any forward in the league (minus-16). [Athletic]
- Bourne: How Florida is jumping Toronto in the first periods. [Sportsnet]
- Oh sure: What would it take to get Sidney Crosby to Montreal? [Sportsnet]