Some thoughts from the NHL on TSN on Wednesday night:
The elimination of the Washington Capitals from the playoffs wasn't all head coach Bruce Boudreau's fault but at the end of the day, somebody usually pays the price. Quite often it's the coach, and it wouldn't surprise me if it is in this case.
Washington's special teams weren't as good as Tampa Bay's and the goaltending wasn't as good either. There was too much skill on the Capitals' side and more will on the Lightning side; although Tampa Bay had plenty of skill as well.
Everybody is going to talk about blowing things up and having a lot of bodies flying out the door but in a salary cap world, there are only so many things you can do. Nicklas Backstrom is a 23-year-old kid who's in the first year of a 10-year, $67 million contract. People are going to say they should trade him but that's not likely to happen. The Capitals need to weather the storm with some of these players they've invested in.
Can it happen again?
Down 3-0 in their series against the Boston Bruins, people are going to ask if the Philadelphia Flyers can rally back and win the series. Not the way they're playing right now.
The goaltending in Philadelphia was a revolving door last year but this year it's spinning really fast. Plus, they had Chris Pronger last year, someone they don't have right now.
The Bruins look like they're just loaded for bear; Zdeno Chara had a couple of bombs from the point and they finally got a power play goal in Game 3. I think Boston's right on top of their game and I don't think Philadelphia is anywhere where they need to be.
Everyone's going to talk about the Flyers' goaltending, but Wednesday's defeat to Boston was a team loss. They did not come prepared to play at all.