With home-ice advantage about wrapped up through the Stanley Cup playoffs, the next critical question for the Caps is easy: Who will they play in the first round? In past years it has been a furious scrap to the final day in the Eastern Conference. This season’s sprint to the finish is more tame. With 18 days to go here are the candidates:
Boston Bruins » A bizarre season for last year’s Eastern Conference No. 1 seed. The Bruins traded Phil Kessel, their best young goal scorer. Tim Thomas won the Vezina Trophy last year. Now he’s a backup to Tuukka Rask. And injuries have killed Boston, including the controversial hit on star center Marc Savard that likely ended his season. Yet the Bruins have 78 points and a three-point lead for the No. 8 spot with 10 games left. They are clearly wounded. But with a little pressure, this could be a dangerous opponent for the Caps.
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Atlanta Thrashers » Not sure how the Thrashers are still alive after trading star forward Ilya Kovalchuk to New Jersey. But a four-game winning streak had brought Atlanta to within a game of Boston. Unfortunately, they were blitzed by the Bruins 4-0 at home and now sit three points back in ninth place. Veteran goalie Johan Hedberg (2.70 goals-against average, .913 save percentage) has stabilized that position. Nik Antropov has nine goals and 12 assists at center since Kovalchuk was traded. But Caps are 4-0 vs. Thrashers this season and would love this matchup.
New York Rangers » Last year’s first-round opponent trailed Boston by seven points entering Wednesday night’s game against the rival New York Islanders. The Rangers needed those points because they start a six-game road trip on Thursday and seven of their final nine are away from Madison Square Garden. They proved last season they have the personnel — and a star goalie in Henrik Lundqvist — to give the Caps fits in first round. But it already may be too late.
