Man, there was just so much to like about that opening game of the Eastern Conference finals for the Washington Capitals. The Tampa Bay team that posted more wins than any other in the NHL during the regular season was — how to put this? Tampa Bay ripped off four straight wins, allowing all of two five-on-five goals the rest of the way. And so they have to expect a similar response from Tampa Bay, because Tampa Bay didn’t win 54 regular season games by accident, because Tampa Bay didn’t start these playoffs with two five-game series relying on luck. What matters most is not how they got to this point, but how they handle it going forward.

Source: Washington Post May 12, 2018 20:41 UTC