The Washington Capitals saw to that by eliminating the two-time reigning Pittsburgh Penguins in dramatic style. Now Ovechkin and the Capitals will face the Lightning in the NHL’s Eastern Conference final, starting Friday night in Tampa. Sidney Crosby’s Penguins were the last team to beat either of this year’s Eastern finalists in post-season play: Washington in the second round last spring, Tampa in the 2016 conference final. Beat Columbus in six, then dethroned Pittsburgh in six … Are in the conference final for the first time in 20 years … They have three players (Brooks Orpik, Matt Niskanen, Lars Eller) who have played in the conference final before. OFFENCE: Alex Ovechkin has racked up eight goals and seven assists … Evgeni Kuznetsov has seven goals, seven assists … Nicklas Backstrom has 10 assists … Tom Wilson’s three-game suspension for a hit on Pittsburgh’s Zach Aston-Reese is over … The power play is 13 for 42 (30.9 per cent) … The Caps have blocked 213 shots in the playoffs, leading the league at 17.75 a game.

Source: thestar May 11, 2018 00:00 UTC