"Stuff happens in the playoffs," Karl Alzner said Wednesday, after the Washington Capitals were done banging the puck around at Kettler Iceplex. Oh yes, stuff does. Lots of stuff. After-the-whistle stuff. Before-the-puck-is-dropped stuff. While-the-officials'-heads-are-turned stuff. And let's not forget that old standby: after-the-game-is-over stuff.
Braden Holtby's shutout and aura of invincibility were gone. Frustrating the Boston Bruins with save after save in Saturday's Game 2, the Washington Capitals goaltender was cool as he lay on the cold ice at TD Garden after giving up the game-tying goal in the third period.
Bruins forward Nathan Horton is expected to miss the Stanley Cup playoffs because of a concussion.
It would have been hard to expect at the start of the season, or at any point in recent months, that the Washington Capitals' goaltending tandem heading into the Stanley Cup playoffs would be Braden Holtby and Dany Sabourin.
The Vancouver Canucks carry the NHL's best record into the Stanley Cup playoffs for the second year in a row. The New York Rangers are on top of the Eastern Conference for the first time since they won it all in 1994.
The Verizon Center crowd cheered and Dale Hunter didn't even know why. The Buffalo Sabres had lost to the Philadelphia Flyers and eliminated themselves from playoff contention, and the Washington Capitals were on their way to knocking off the Florida Panthers.
Martin Brodeur, the best goaltender in the world: It sounds so right because it was so true for most of the past decade. Dominik Hasek and Patrick Roy were in the argument, too, and Roy might be the only goalie in the modern era to challenge Brodeur for the title of best in NHL history.
Major League Soccer games will be televised by NBC's networks starting next season, doubling the number of homes that dozens of games will be available in.
His team was never even a part of the Stanley Cup playoffs, yet Columbus Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson has been extremely busy.
