Maple Leafs know they¡¯ve just
completed the best statistical season in franchise history.And Frederik Andersen
knows he now holds the team¡¯s all-time record for goalie wins in a season.What
remains a mystery for the Leafs is their first-round playoff opponent.Andersen
made 31 saves to pick up his 38th victory of the season Saturday and Toronto
closed out its schedule by defeating the Montreal Canadiens 4-2.The Leafs
finished with a club-record 105 points ¨C bettering the 103 earned in the
pre-lockout 2003-04 season before the shootout was introduced to break ties ¨C
but will have to wait until the Boston Bruins play the Florida Panthers on
Sunday to see where they open their next playoff chapter.A win for the Bruins
over the
Panthers
Authentic
Justin Bailey Jersey , who have been eliminated from postseason
contention, would see Boston move into first in the Atlantic Division and set up
a meeting between Tampa Bay and Toronto.A victory in regulation for the
Panthers, meanwhile, would see the Leafs and Bruins square off.Asked if he would
be watching Sunday¡¯s finale, a makeup game after Boston and Florida were snowed
out in January, Andersen indicated he has other plans.¡±No,¡± he said. ¡±I¡¯m going
to watch the Masters.¡±Auston Matthews scored his 34th goal of the season to
match his jersey number and added an assist for Toronto (49-26-7), which also
set club records for overall victories and home wins (29).Zach Hyman, Nazem
Kadri and Patrick Marleau had the other goals for the Leafs, who are going to
the playoffs for the second consecutive spring. Jake Gardiner added two
assists.Andersen¡¯s 37 victories coming in saw him sit tied with Ed Belfour
(2002-03) and Andrew Raycroft (2006-07) for the most by a Toronto goalie in a
season.Now he sits alone in first.¡±It¡¯s fun when you set goals at the beginning
of the year and then you achieve some of them,¡± Andersen said. ¡±It goes without
saying that there are bigger goals.¡±Leafs coach Mike Babcock was pleased to see
his team come through for its goalie in a game that didn¡¯t mean anything in the
standings.¡±He¡¯s been a huge part of our team,¡± Babcock said. ¡±That record is a
special
Kyle
Okposo Jersey , special thing.¡±Daniel Carr and Jeff Petry scored for
Montreal (29-40-13). Carey Price stopped 26 shots for the visitors as the
Canadiens wrapped up a disappointing season.The players observed a moment of
silence before the game to honor the victims of Friday¡¯s horrific crash in
Saskatchewan that saw a tractor-trailer collide with a bus carrying a junior
hockey team, killing 15 people and injuring 14 others.The Leafs and Canadiens
also sported Broncos decals on their helmets.Tied 1-1 through 40 minutes, Hyman
chipped a rebound past Price just 37 seconds into the third for his 15th goal
and 40th point of the season after Matthews took the initial shot.Andersen made
a good stop on Brendan Gallagher¡¯s one-timer with four minutes to go, before the
Leafs went to the power play with 3:45 left when Michael McCarron hacked
Matthews to the ice with the center bearing down on what could have been his
35th goal.But Kadri wouldn¡¯t be denied with 2:50 left when he backhanded his
32nd over Price before Petry then scored his 12th with 40.2 seconds left in
regulation.Marleau put things to bed with his 27th on a Price mistake with 9.8
seconds still on the clock as the Canadiens limped to the finish line after
topping the Atlantic with 103 points last season.¡±We¡¯re still playing the game
we love,¡± Gallagher said. ¡±But the games haven¡¯t been meaningful.¡±Just never
want to feel this (way) or go through this ever again.¡±Down 1-0 after Matthews
extended his point streak to 10 games ¨C he now has seven goals and seven assists
over that span ¨C late in the first, the Canadiens came close when Andersen
denied Gallagher twice on a power play in the second.¡±He¡¯s been unbelievable for
us, probably our best player all year,¡± Matthews said the Leafs goalie. ¡±He¡¯s
kept us in games, won us games all throughout the year and been a brick
wall.¡±Montreal got even with 3:56 left in the second when Carr scored his sixth
on a rebound.Matthews struck on the power play with 1:55 left in the first when
William Nylander wheeled down from the point, froze Price and delivered a sweet
cross-ice feed for a wide-open net to get the ball rolling on a milestone
night.Now all the Leafs can do is sit and wait to find out where they¡¯ll open
the playoffs next week as the Atlantic¡¯s No. 3 seed ¨C either Boston or Tampa.¡±We
don¡¯t know who we¡¯re playing,¡± Babcock said. ¡±Both teams are very good hockey
clubs.¡±We¡¯re in for a great test and it should be a lot of fun.¡±UP
NEXT:Canadiens: Season over.Maple Leafs: first round of the playoffs.¡ª
WASHINGTON (AP) Dmitry Orlov scoring on Sergei Bobrovsky is a popular clip at a
bar in their hometown in southwestern Siberia.¡±They always show my goal to him,¡±
Orlov said. ¡±My friends said that.¡±Orlov and Bobrovsky are good friends going
back to their time growing up together and have played together on the Russian
national team with Alex
Ovechkin
http://www.officialsabres.com/authentic-adidas-rasmus-ristol ainen-jersey ,
Evgeny Kuznetsov and Artemi Panarin. They¡¯re split on opposite sides of a
first-round series between Ovechkin, Kuznetsov and Orlov¡¯s Washington Capitals
and Bobrovsky and Panarin¡¯s Columbus Blue Jackets. Game 1 is Thursday night in
Washington.¡±They¡¯re good players, obviously, and we need to work (against)
them,¡± Orlov said. ¡±Panarin have good skill so we need to not give him a lot of
space and Bob we need to put more shots, more traffic on him. If we win, it will
be nice.¡±Perhaps not since the Detroit Red Wings¡¯ Russian Five has a Stanley Cup
playoff series had so many prominent players from Russia, with all eyes on those
them as potential X-factors. It starts with Bobrovsky, a two-time Vezina
Trophy-winning goaltender who aims to rebound from starting his NHL playoff
career 3-10 with a 3.63 goals-against average and .887 save percentage.¡±He¡¯s
going to rise to the occasion,¡± Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno said. ¡±He has
every time he¡¯s been challenged. If I had to pick anybody in the league to go
into the playoffs with it would be him, and I think he¡¯s pretty confident about
the team in front of him.¡±The team in front of Bobrovsky is led by Panarin,
whose 82 points are 25 more than the second-closest Columbus player.¡±The Blue
Jackets have added a guy like
Panarin
www.blackhawksshoponline.com ,
I think he¡¯s a little bit of that difference make, just like we have some
difference makers,¡± Washington coach Barry Trotz said. ¡±They can do some things
that they maybe didn¡¯t have in the past. He¡¯s an exceptional player. We¡¯ve got
some exceptional players. Sometimes in those tight series, those exceptional
players can be the difference.¡±Ovechkin has made a difference all year, leading
the NHL with 49 goals and scoring 19.1 percent of the Capitals¡¯ total over the
course of the 82-game regular season. Kuznetsov caught fire late, recording 11
goals and 17 assists in the final 18 games of the regular season.¡±I would say he
is mature, understands the game,¡± Ovechkin said of Kuznetsov. ¡±Everybody knew he
would be a very good, solid player, a talent, and you can see how he plays right
now.¡±Some things to watch when Columbus and Washington meet in the playoffs for
the first time:GRUBAUER HOURBackup Philipp Grubauer got the nod to start Game 1
for the Capitals over 2016 Vezina winner and longtime No. 1 goaltender Braden
Holtby. The 26-year-old German started a playoff game in place of Holtby in 2015
because of an illness, but he earned the starting job this time around by
closing out the season 7-3-0 with a 2.32 goals-against average and .925 save
percentage. Holtby went into a slump in February and
March
Chicago
Blackhawks T-Shirts Womens , opening the door for Grubauer to seize the
opportunity. But Trotz only named Grubauer his starter for Game 1 and said he¡¯ll
take the decision game by game.TORTORELLA TIMEBlue Jackets coach John Tortorella
will face the Capitals in a playoff series for the sixth time after going 3-2
with the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers. Tortorella has beaten ¨C and
lost to ¨C Washington this time of year with less-talented teams than he has
right now, particularly after the addition of winger Thomas Vanek and defenseman
Ian Cole at the trade deadline made Columbus a high-scoring machine.¡±I think
we¡¯re playing some of our best hockey, both as a group and certainly the
individuals,¡± Tortorella said. ¡±I think with them and the additions at the
deadline, I think our group feels really good about itself.¡±ACTIVE DWashington¡¯s
John Carlson led all NHL defenseman with 68 points in the regular season and yet
still might not be the best on the blue line in this series. Columbus has Norris
Trophy dark horse Seth Jones, who along with Zack Werenski give the Blue Jackets
some serious offense.SPECIAL TEAMSOne area the Capitals have a huge advantage is
on the power play and penalty kill, where they¡¯re ranked seventh and 15th in the
league. The Blue Jackets are 15th on the power play and 26th on the penalty
kill. Since the trade deadline, though, Columbus has scored on 25 percent of its
power plays.¡ªAP Sports Writer Mitch Stacy in Columbus, Ohio, contributed.¡ª