Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz: Capitals can end Penguins three-peat quest

Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz, a daily look at the races for the 2018 NHL postseason. There are two games on Monday, including the Washington Capitals trying to eliminate the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Second Round, and the Winnipeg Jets trying to do the same to the Nashville Predators in the West.

Need to know

We are closing in on puck drop for the first two games Monday. Here is the latest news.

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Backstrom game-time decision

The Capitals may have to play Game 6 without forward Nicklas Backstrom. Backstrom did not participate in the morning skate Monday. The 30-year-old center left with an upper-body injury at 6:48 of the third period in Game 5 on Saturday after he appeared to block a shot with his hand during a Penguins power play midway through the first.
Here is the latest on Backstrom. 

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Maurice impressed with Golden Knights

The Jets would face the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final if they can get past the Predators. Jets coach
Paul Maurice said Monday
he knows Vegas is not your typical expansion team.

What's on tap

There are two games Monday, each featuring the two Cup Final teams from last season trying to keep their seasons alive.
The Capitals not only are trying to end the Penguins' three-peat bid, they are looking to reach the Eastern Conference Final for the first time since they went to the Stanley Cup Final in 1998, and buck history as well. Since forward Alex Ovechkin entered the League in 2005, Washington has had six chances to advance to the conference final with a win and lost all six games. That includes a 6-2 loss to the Penguins in Game 7 of the 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals and last year's 2-0 loss to the Penguins in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Second Round. It also includes a 2012 Game 7 loss to the New York Rangers and blowing a 3-1 series lead against New York in 2015, when they lost Games 5 and 7 in New York in overtime.
Predators defenseman P.K. Subban said there will be a Game 7 in this series, but for that to happen the defending Western Conference champions need to play much better than they did in a 6-2 loss in Game 5 on Saturday. The Jets, who will be playing in front of what should be a wild crowd at Bell MTS Place, have never reached the conference final.
Here are the scores from Sunday:

Eastern Conference

Tampa Bay Lightning 3, Boston Bruins 1

Western Conference

Vegas Golden Knights 3, San Jose Sharks 0

What we learned

Here are some takeaways from Day 26 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs:

Bruins must address depth

The Boston Bruins thought they were a deep team, especially up front, until they ran into the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round. David Krejci's power-play goal Sunday was the first goal the Bruins got from a forward who doesn't play on their top line (Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak) since Game 1. Boston did not score a 5-on-5 goal in the last three games of the series and didn't get a 5-on-5 goal from a forward in the last four. The Bruins are young, but coach Bruce Cassidy scratched rookie Danton Heinen in Games 4 and 5. Rookie forward Ryan Donato had some good moments during the past two games, but he didn't score. Fellow rookie Jake DeBrusk was demoted to the third line for Game 5. Boston got nothing from its third and fourth lines during the series.

Lightning still carried by their depth

Teams need four-line depth to win the Stanley Cup. The Lightning are halfway there because they have it. They defeated the Bruins in five games in the Eastern Conference Second Round because all 12 forwards they used played a significant role in doing what they do best. First-liners Steven Stamkos, J.T. Miller and Nikita Kucherov came through on the scoresheet in Games 4 and 5 after doing all the other things well in Games 2 and 3. Brayden Point, Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson, who make up the second line, finished the series a combined plus-6 after leaving Game 1 a combined minus-12. Anthony Cirelli was a key cog on the third line with Alex Killorn and Yanni Gourde. They kept the puck and were on the ice for one 5-on-5 goal-against. Fourth-liners Cedric Paquette, Ryan Callahan and Chris Kunitz were beasts on the forecheck, creating turnovers and keeping the Bruins stuck in their defensive zone. There is no reason to believe the Lightning's depth won't be a catalyst to continue carrying them in the playoffs.

Fleury improving with age

Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, 33, isn't just aging gracefully, he is putting up NHL career-best numbers during the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He is 8-2 with a 1.53 goals-against average, .951 save percentage and four shutouts. The only time in 11 previous trips to the playoffs he had a GAA below 2.00, a save percentage higher than .930 and at least three shutouts was 2008 with the Pittsburgh Penguins, when he was 23 and went 14-6 with a 1.97 GAA, .933 save percentage and three shutouts. Fleury is three shutouts from tying Martin Brodeur's playoff record of seven in one year, which he did with the New Jersey Devils in 2003.

Sharks' outlook is bright

Many wondered how the San Jose Sharks would do without forwards Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton. They got a strong indication that they could survive quite nicely, finishing the regular season with 100 points and reaching the Western Conference Second Round. Marleau signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs as an unrestricted free agent July 2. Thornton injured his knee Jan. 23, needed surgery and never returned. The Sharks had eight players score at least two goals during the playoffs, topped by forward Tomas Hertl with six. Forwards Marcus Sorensen, Evander Kane and Logan Couture each scored four, defenseman Brent Burns scored three and forwards Joe Pavelski, Joonas Donskoi and Timo Meier each had two.

About last night

Tampa Bay Lightning 3, Boston Bruins 1 --The Lightning finished the Bruins with the Game 5 victory to reach the Eastern Conference Final for the third time in four seasons. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 saves and Point, Miller and Anton Stralman scored for Tampa Bay, which will face the winner of the Pittsburgh Penguins-Washington Capitals second-round series. Washington leads the series 3-2 with Game 6 in Pittsburgh on Monday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TVAS, SN). Krejci scored for the Bruins and Tuukka Rask made 19 saves.
Vegas Golden Knights 3, San Jose Sharks 0 --The Golden Knights' magical inaugural season continued with the six-game series win against the Sharks. The Golden Knights became the third NHL team to win at least two series in their first season, joining the 1918 Toronto Arenas and the 1968 St. Louis Blues. Fleury made 28 saves, and forward Jonathan Marchessault and defenseman Nate Schmidt scored in the second period for Vegas. Forward Cody Eakin scored an empty-net goal in the third. Vegas will face the winner of the Winnipeg Jets-Nashville Predators second-round series. The Jets lead the series 3-2 with Game 6 in Winnipeg on Monday (9:30 ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVAS).