VITEK VANECEK

Ilya Samsonov made 29 saves as the Washington Capitals beat the Florida Panthers 6-1 in Game 3 to take a lead in their first-round playoff series.

Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe each had a goal and an assist and the Florida Panthers topped the Washington Capitals 5-1 on Thursday night to even their Eastern Conference first-round series at a game apiece.

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The eight playoff teams in the Eastern Conference have been set since before the All-Star break.

The first-round matchups are set for the NHL playoffs that begin Monday.

Lars Eller had a goal and an assist to help the Washington Capitals beat the Boston Bruins 4-2 for their third consecutive victory.

The Carolina Hurricanes gave the Washington Capitals something to think about if the division rivals meet in the playoffs.

The combination of jumbled standings in the Western Conference and a flat salary cap has stalled much of the trade market around the NHL.

Tom Wilson scored early, Alex Ovechkin added an empty-net goal late, and Vitek Vanecek made 23 saves to lead the Washington Capitals to a 2-0 victory over the New York Islanders.

Garnet Hathaway scored his third goal in two games, Alex Ovechkin added two assists and the Washington Capitals spoiled Sidney Crosby’s return, routing the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-1.

Alex Ovechkin scored his 741st career goal to tie Brett Hull for fourth on the NHL’s all-time list and help the Washington Capitals to a 5-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves, Anthony Cirelli had a goal and two assists, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat Washington 3-2 to end the Capitals’ eight-game season-opening point streak.

While the fisticuffs never materialized, the Washington Capitals made a season-opening 5-1 victory against the division-rival New York Rangers memorable for Alex Ovechkin’s 731st and 732nd goals and Hendrix Lapierre’s first.

The New York Rangers locked up their goaltending by agreeing to sign Igor Shesterkin to a four-year $22.6 million contract.

Alex Ovechkin has re-signed with the Washington Capitals for $47.5 million over five years.

The Boston Bruins beat the Washington Capitals 3-1 to close out their first-round series in five games and advance in the playoffs.

Craig Smith scored 5:48 into the second overtime to give the Boston Bruins a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals and a 2-1 lead in their East Division first-round playoff series.

Brad Marchand scored 39 seconds into overtime and the Boston Bruins rallied to beat the Washington Capitals 4-3 and even the East Division first-round series at a game apiece.

Nic Dowd deflected in T.

Michael Raffl scored from a tight angle with 1.8 seconds remaining and the Washington Capitals beat the short-handed Boston Bruins 2-1 in the teams’ regular season finale.

The Washington Capitals' Tom Wilson set off a massive brawl during his team's game against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Monday.

Anthony Mantha had a two points in his Washington debut, Alex Ovechkin scored the 728th goal of his NHL career and the Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers 6-1.

Henrik Lundqvist says a checkup last week showed inflammation around his heart, a setback that will prevent the 39-year-old goaltender from playing for the Washington Capitals this season.

(AP Photo/Nick Wass)WASHINGTON – Capitals players and coach Peter Laviolette sounded as if they'd lost after holding on to beat the New York Rangers 5-4 Sunday. Washington has won 10 of 11 games to move two points up on the second-place New York Islanders and looks primed for another deep playoff run. “If there’s a trend, we want to address it,” said Wilson, who has five points in four games since returning from a seven-game suspension. And their best players are producing: Ovechkin has 11 goals in 11 games and leads the team with 18; Kuznetsov has 12 points in 10 games and Jakub Vrana picked up his first point in five games. Keith Kinkaid made 17 saves for the Rangers, who have lost back-to-back one-goal games after a three-game winning streak.

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) celebrates his goal with the bench during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils, Friday, March 26, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)WASHINGTON – Alex Ovechkin scored twice, Ilya Samsonov made 24 saves and the Washington Capitals rode their best players to a 4-0 victory Friday night and two-game sweep of the New Jersey Devils. Ovechkin has scored 10 times in his past 10 games and has a team-best 17 goals this season. Nicklas Backstrom scored his 13th goal of the season, while Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson each had two assists. With Ovechkin rolling, the Capitals have won nine of their past 10 games and are back atop the East Division.

Ovechkin scored two rebound goals in the final seven minutes to give the Washington Capitals their seventh consecutive victory by coming back to beat the New York Rangers 2-1 on Friday night. He has scored in five in a row and has seven goals in the past seven games. “We liked he way we played for the most part," Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba said. LINDGREN DELIVERSWhile Washington players jawed at Lindgren plenty after his open-ice hit on Ovechkin midway through the second period, Ovechkin himself had no issues with it. “It was a great hit," Ovechkin said.

Ovechkin matched Phil Esposito for sixth on the NHL list with his 717th goal and the Washington Capitals beat the Buffalo Sabres 6-0 on Monday night. Vitek Vanecek stopped 23 shots for his first NHL shutout and improved to 4-0-1 against the Sabres. Backstrom’s 11th goal of the season came in his 984th game with the Capitals, passing Calle Johansson for second-most games in franchise history. Hutton made 24 saves for Buffalo, which is 0-9-2 in its past 11 games, the third-longest skid in team history. AdThe Sabres recalled center Rasmus Asplund from the taxi squad and sent defenseman Brandon Davidson to the taxi squad.

Washington Capitals right wing Garnet Hathaway (21) scores a goal past New Jersey Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood (29) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)NEWARK, N.J. – Based on recent results, the Washington Capitals are getting used to coach Peter Laviolette's new system. Lars Eller, who added the third goal in a big opening period, thinks Washington is hitting its stride in a 5-1-1 run that followed a four-game losing streak. AdNico Hischier and Pavel Zacha each scored for the second consecutive game for New Jersey, which has lost four of five. Ad“I believe it hit the shield and pushed the shield into his face so that that actually is a good thing,” Ruff said. So we still have a lot to learn, a lot to clean up and a lot we can improve on.

Washington Capitals right wing T.J. Oshie (77) celebrates his goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils, Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)WASHINGTON – T.J. Oshie scored twice to end a lengthy drought, Alex Ovechkin had a late power-play goal and the Washington Capitals came back from down two to beat the New Jersey Devils 4-3 on Sunday. Anderson and New Jersey's Aaron Dell each hadn't started an NHL game in more than 11 months. The Capitals and Devils each played at home Saturday afternoon, so this adjustment was possible. Samsonov got two minor league rehab starts but hasn't played an NHL game since Jan. 17.

New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafrenire (13) scores a goal past Washington Capitals goaltender Vitek Vanecek (41) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, in Washington. Also seen are Capitals defenseman John Carlson (74) and Rangers center Mika Zibanejad (93). (AP Photo/Nick Wass)WASHINGTON – Alexis Lafrenière scored his second NHL goal, Artemi Panarin had two assists and the New York Rangers made the best of a new-look lineup, beating the Washington Capitals 4-1 Saturday for their second consecutive victory. Panarin set up Lafrenière on the doorstep late in the second period, and his shot provided the rebound for Chris Kreider's power-play goal in the first. He's the second Rangers player in league protocol, along with injured forward Filip Chytil.

Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) celebrates his goal with the bench during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Monday, Feb. 1, 2021, in Washington. Buoyed by their top scorer's first two goals of the season and a big rookie's fight against one of the toughest players in hockey, the Bruins erased a three-goal deficit to beat the Washington Capitals 5-3 on Monday night. “In the box, I was like a little kid in there just jumping around when we scored,” Frederic said. The Capitals had front-row seats for Pastrnak's breakout performance in his second game after undergoing offseason hip surgery. Former Bruins captain Zdeno Chara scored in his second game against his old team.

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8), of Russia, celebrates his game-winning goal in overtime of an NHL hockey game against the Boston Bruins, Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021, in Washington. In his first game since Jan. 19, Ovechkin scored in overtime to help the Washington Capitals beat the Boston Bruins 4-3 Saturday night in a showdown between the top teams in the NHL’s East Division. After Ovechkin missed the previous four games because of COVID-19 protocols, the high-scoring forward showed his career-long flair for the dramatic by beating Tuukka Rask with a perfect shot 28 seconds into overtime. “It was fun,” said Ovechkin, who also had an assist while being eased back in with 14 minutes of ice time. The Capitals beat the Bruins for the 17th time in 19 regular-season games dating to 2015.

Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby (87) gets a shot past Washington Capitals goaltender Vitek Vanecek (41) for an overtime goal in an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021. More than 15 years in the NHL has taught the Pittsburgh Penguins longtime captain that it's simply part of the business. Having the architect who put together a roster that led the Penguins to consecutive Stanley Cups resign without warning is another. Ad“I think there’s some great people here that will continue to do good work,” Crosby said. Crosby arrived with the top pick in the 2005 draft, and Allvin joined the Penguins as a scout in 2006.

“I wasn’t thinking about it," Vanecek said of his first NHL shootout. “We want to win hockey games in good ways and feel good about ourselves,” Dowd said. Buffalo rookie Dylan Cozens scored his first NHL goal on a top-shelf snipe past Vanecek in the second period. The Capitals were fined $100,000 Wednesday for breaking league rules since those four players were together in a hotel room not wearing masks. Goaltender Carter Hutton didn’t travel with the team because of an apparent head injury from a collision Tuesday in Philadelphia.

That can mean a positive COVID-19 test, an inconclusive test or potential exposure to someone who tested positive. He was pulled at halftime of Memphis’ game against Brooklyn on Jan. 8 but played the Grizzlies’ next game Jan. 11 against Cleveland. ___The Atlantic Coast Conference announced that Saturday's Pittsburgh-Boston College men’s basketball game has been postponed. The conference also said Pittsburgh's men's game at Wake Forest scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 7, will move to this Saturday evening. ___Georgetown’s men’s basketball game at Xavier scheduled for next week has been postponed because of a coronavirus-related issue in the Hoyas’ program.