Game #72
Caps (47-14-10, 104 points) at Tampa Bay Lightning (28-30-12, 68 points)
Wait, the Caps are playing the Lightning? That never happens. Two teams meet for the third time in 16 days. Washington won 5-4 on March 4 and Tampa Bay won 3-2 on March 12. Both games were at Verizon Center. It’s their final game of the season and the Caps lead the series 3-2. There are just three games left after this one against the Southeast Division.
The big news, of course, is the return of star forward Alex Ovechkin from his two-game suspension – just in time to make a final run at a third consecutive Hart Trophy. Who knows what affect Ovechkin’s two suspensions will have on his MVP chances. There’s a decent chance at least a few Professional Hockey Writers’ Association voters will hold it against him. Will that make enough of a difference in the final tally? Not sure. But if Ovechkin finishes on top in goals and points in far fewer games than Pittsburgh center Sidney Crosby or Vancouver center Henrik Sedin it’s hard to imagine how you’d justify it. Unless, of course, you blame Ovechkin himself for missing four of those games. He also missed another six in November because of a shoulder injury.
Entering play Saturday, Ovechkin had 96 points. That’s only two better than Sedin, but nine up on Crosby. He’s a +41 to Crosby’s +11. Sedin is a +32. All three teams are performing well so voters can give each player extra credit for that, if they want. Would the Caps excellent 7-3 record without Ovechkin work against him? In other words the old “While he’s a great player his team is so good it can carry on without him for a few weeks so how is he more valuable than Sedin, whose loss would cripple the Canucks?” theory. There’s enough out there that No. 8 may want to win a scoring and goals title with a little room to spare. No matter how well he’s played it’s human nature to want to switch things up. That’s a fascinating subplot to the end of the regular season, which has little intrigue left to it at this point other than lineup preparation and securing home-ice advantage.
Looks like Jose Theodore is back in goal with forward Matt Bradley and defenseman Joe Corvo the healthy scratches along with Tyler Sloan and Quintin Laing. I’ll have a post up later detailing exactly who’s been scratched how many times since the Olympic break ended. Good to have that info on hand as we try to detect what Bruce Boudreau is thinking heading into the playoffs next month. Just 10 games left after tonight. Keep an eye on the Thrashers-Flyers games this weekend. Atlanta is quietly still in the playoff mix and a win – or two – over Philadelphia in their home-and-home today and tomorrow will put some pressure on Boston and the New York Rangers in the fight for that No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference.
