When Todd Reirden and Jon Cooper spent four months taking a sight over video of the groups they coached this season, they noticed nearly polar opposites.
Reirden’s Washington Capitals began sizzling earlier than their defensive recreation slipped. Cooper’s Tampa Bay Lightning took a whereas to warm up, then gained 14 of 21 video games earlier than the NHL season became once halted in mid-March thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We played somewhat darn properly,” Cooper acknowledged. “We have been somewhat contented with rather deal of our recreation, and so now you can simply have a wide gamble to roughly tweak, evaluation what went sinister and obtain better at it.”
Washington and Tampa Bay did ample to form high four seeds within the Eastern Conference. As soon as they face off Monday in Toronto in each and every team’s spherical-robin opener, the hump for seeding will probably be on, with the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers also vying for the tip pickle within the East.
“We’re a team that has been battle-tested, and we’ve passed thru adversity,” Reirden acknowledged. “I fancy our team for a bunch of causes, and one amongst them’s thanks to the journey that we have, and the truth that it is a worthy rather a pair of scenario the establish we’re going unbiased appropriate into playoff hockey.”
The Capitals gained all three conferences this season, despite the truth that they haven’t played the Lightning since Dec 21. That became once earlier than Washington traded for Ilya Kovalchuk and Brenden Dillon and Tampa Bay loaded up with closing date additions Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow.
Since the Christmas ruin, the Lightning have the league’s high aspects share, and they opt deal of self belief into the restart.
“It’s really main to acquire our recreation on song unbiased appropriate away,” forward Tyler Johnson acknowledged. “We must at all times be feeling unbiased appropriate-searching about our recreation going into our playoff sequence.”
The final playoff sequence between these groups became once an yarn East finals showdown in 2018. The Capitals came back from a 3-2 deficit to take dangle of Game 7 in Tampa on the capacity to their first Stanley Cup.
“We’ve had our battles over time,” Washington middle Nicklas Backstrom acknowledged. “Very knowledgeable team. Looks fancy we’ve been matching up with them somewhat unbiased appropriate-searching currently.”
HOLTBEAST
Rookie goaltender Ilya Samsonov’s peril that kept him off Washington’s roster system the salvage belongs to 2016 Vezina Trophy winner Braden Holtby. The pending free agent is targeted top likely on attempting to lift one more championship and his want to play each and every recreation will potentially technique to fruition with Samsonov out.
“That is confidently the idea,” Holtby acknowledged. “I judge that is amazingly realistic. I judge we’ve had ample time to rest and obtain better and put in some unbiased appropriate-searching work right here to be within the coolest form physically and mentally to head all accessible and put all the pieces into each and every recreation.”
SEEN STAMKOS?
Lightning captain Steven Stamkos overlooked the delivery of working in opposition to camp 2.0 with an peril connected to the core muscle surgical treatment he underwent in March. He became once on the ice for a fat apply Monday and is anticipated to be fat hump for spherical-robin play.
“I’ve been progressing, clearly had the surgical treatment in March and roughly the usaand downs of a rehab,,” Stamkos acknowledged. “Positively the top likely I felt became once (Monday) on the ice, so one more step forward.”
TORONTO-VECHKIN
Alex Ovechkin tied for the league lead in targets this season with 48, including two Oct. 29 in his top likely take a look at with to Toronto. He has 26 targets in 28 NHL video games — including two hat methods — at what’s now identified as Scotiabank Arena, the establish all Eastern Conference video games will probably be played with out fans.
Ovechkin is also primed for this sooner than his 35th birthday in September after working with his coach all the method in which thru the time a long way from hockey.
“We roughly carry out some workout to be in form and when we blueprint back from Miami and be in D.C., we have ice and we silent carry out workout off the ice,” Ovechkin acknowledged. “I judge I’m in somewhat unbiased appropriate-searching form unbiased appropriate now.”
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Note AP Hockey Creator Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno
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