Washington and Ottawa Advance as Stanley Cup Playoffs Conclude 1st Round

The 1st round of the Stanley Cup playoffs came to an end on April 23rd with a pair of overtime games.

For the fourth time in six games, the Washington Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs went into overtime. The game was tied 1-1 when Marcus Johansson scored his second goal of the game at 6:31 in the extra period to win the game and the series for the Capitals.

The up and coming Leafs are finally headed in the right direction and were a tenacious opponent for the Capitals, for which nothing short of winning the Cup is expected after two years of having the best regular season record in hockey. But the road will not be easy; Washington will play the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round.

Following the same blueprint, the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins went into overtime for the fourth time in six games. Clarke MacArthur scored on a power play at 6:30 of overtime to win it for Ottawa, who will play the New York Rangers in the second round. The Senators are one of two Canadian teams still left; the Edmonton Oilers advanced after eliminating the San Jose Sharks. The Calgary Flames, Toronto, and the Montreal Canadiens are out. Last season, no Canadian teams even made it to the playoffs.

Meanwhile, Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman declared the team’s four game sweep by the Nashville Predators to be a “complete failure” and promised big changes, so he fired assistant coach Mike Kitchen. Yeah, it’s his fault.