Caps vs. Bruins 4-11-2010 Preview

Washington Capitals (54-27; 120 points; 1st Southeast Division, 1st Eastern Conference, 1st Overall) vs.  Boston Bruins (38-43; 89 points; 3rd Northeast Division, 6th Eastern Conference, 16th Overall):
Caps Game #82, Home Game #41, NHL Game #1,224

Caps "Magic Numbers" (Caps Points Earned+Lost by team named) to clinch:
Playoff Spot: Clinched 3/11
Southeast Division Championship: Clinched 3/11
Eastern Conference #1 Seed: Clinched 3/28
President's Trophy: Clinched 4/4

Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. 12:15 pm. Washington TV: None. Radio: WJFK 106.7-FM. Boston TV: None. Radio: WWBZ 99.5-FM.  U.S. National TV: NBC.  Canadian National TV: TSN2.  NHL Center Ice: None.

Today the Caps finish off the regular season on home ice against the team that they started it with, the Boston Bruins.  The Bruins are back in town after Monday night's 3-2 loss in overtime.  The Bruins defeated the Buffaslugs on Thursday night 3-1 and the Carolina Hurricanes yesterday 4-2 on home ice to wrap up a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

 What The Natives Are Saying:

(Com)Post:  eyes elsewhere, not slowing down.  Caps.com.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com.  AP Wire.

Open Source Intelligence:

Boston Globe-Democrat: playoff bound, unknown future, not likely to be there.  Boston Herald: goal met, quick flash, big save, better position.

What Do We Expect Today?:

Well folks, we're wondering if the the guys over at NBC who chose this game aren't kicking themselves rather hard right now.  They could have selected a game that actually meant something for today's broadcast, the Flyers-Rangers game in Philadelphia but instead they were left with this game, a meaningless affair with nothing but personal stats at stake.  The Caps and Bruins are locked into their seeds and will learn who their first round opponent will be later today regardless of the outcome of the game they're playing in.  The Caps will watch the Flyers-Rangers game because if Philadelphia wins, the Caps will play Montreal.  Should the Rangers win, the Caps get another first round matchup with the Rangers.  Boston will watch the Buffaslugs play the New Jersey Devils because should the Buffaslugs win in regulation, the Bruins will face the Devils.  If the Devils win or simply get to overtime, then the Buffaslugs will play the Bruins in the first round.  But as for the game on NBC, the only drama is will Captain A.O. play and get the three points he needs to tie Henrik Sedin to win the Art Ross Trophy?  Captain A.O. is also now tied with Steven Stamkos of the Ning at 50 for the Rocket Richard and Stamkos will be playing the Florida Panthers later.  There is of course Canadian Diving Team Captain, Lowblow Secondary Assist Cindy Crosby who could also sneak into the Richard race because she and her team play on Long Island tonight as well.  The Islanders were blown out 7-1 by the Devils last night.  So expect today to be the Captain A.O. Show a little more than usual as the Caps try to get him points and goals he needs for those trophies.  As for how much the Bruins will care to stop him, we don't know.  But we do know that the Bruins have nothing to play for, they've already wrapped up their playoff spot and have no chance of facing the Caps in the first round which must seem like a major victory for them already.

Caps Nut Official Prediction:

Caps 5
Bruins 1
Winner by Captain A.O.
(45-36 on the season with TWO perfect games now)