TORONTO -- There was a smile on Brendan Shanahan's face and an ache in his gut as he walked out of the Toronto Maple Leafs dressing room Monday.

COLUMBUS -- In the aftermath of their series-clinching 6-3 victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference First Round on Monday, it would have been understandable if Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals wanted to take a moment to appreciate their accomplishment rather than start looking ahead to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

But Ovechkin knew the questions were coming. The Penguins defeated the Capitals in the second round each of the past two seasons and went on to win the Stanley Cup each time.

The Toronto Maple Leafs held a moment of silence honoring the victims of a tragic crash in the North York section of the city before Game 6 of their Eastern Conference First Round series against the Boston Bruins at Air Canada Centre on Monday.

The Columbus Blue Jackets were in position to earn their first Stanley Cup Playoff series win heading home to Nationwide Arena after two overtime victories at the Washington Capitals in the Eastern Conference First Round.

But the euphoria turned to another spring of disappointment when the Capitals won the next four games, including Game 3 in double overtime and Game 5 in overtime, to eliminate Columbus in six games.

The only sure thing about Game 7 of the Eastern Conference First Round between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs at TD Garden on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVAS, NESN) is what will take place on the ice after the game. The post-series handshake line is one of the NHL's great traditions, a few gentlemanly moments following four, five, six or seven punishing Stanley Cup Playoff games.

In many ways, the handshake line is a contradiction: Players who have been bruising each other in every second of every game line up to shake hands and wish each other well. One team has advanced to the next round or has won the Stanley Cup; the other is vanquished into the offseason. The handshake tradition has endured, evolved, and today it is a compelling scene at the end of hard-fought playoff series.

It's safe to say everyone who calls the Toronto Maple Leafs their favorite team was sky-high after their 3-1 victory against the Boston Bruins on Monday that forced Game 7 in the Eastern Conference First Round, but perhaps nobody was more excited than longtime Maple Leafs play-by-play man Joe Bowen on Sportsnet 590 The Fan.

As the third period went on, Bowen's voice seemed to get louder and louder with each near miss or great save, but he let loose following Tomas Plekanec's empty-net goal that assured the Maple Leafs and Bruins would go the distance.

TORONTO -- The Boston Bruins know this feeling.

They know what it's like to go to Game 7, to feel nerves and excitement and panic and overwhelming need all at once. They have done this before, over and over. Nine times in the previous 10 seasons they have played in a do-or-die game.

The Coaches Room is a regular feature throughout the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs by one of four former NHL coaches and assistants who will turn their critical gaze to the game and explain it through the lens of a teacher. Jim Corsi, David Marcoux, Paul MacLean and Joe Mullen will take turns providing insight.

In this edition, Marcoux, former goalie coach for the Carolina Hurricanes and the Calgary Flames, provides some insight on what's going on when teams have a substantial break between playoff rounds.

Vegas Golden Knights vs. San Jose Sharks

Golden Knights: 51-24-7, 109 points, first in Pacific

Sharks: 45-27-10, 100 points, third in Pacific

Season series: VGK 3-0-1; SJS 1-2-1

Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz, a daily look at the 2018 NHL postseason. There were two games Monday, both in the Eastern Conference. 

Filip Forsberg gave NHL defensemen fits all season. He has continued to do so in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, where the Nashville Predators forward has scored four goals, two in spectacular fashion.

He has looked almost impossible to stop, but former NHL defenseman and current Predators broadcaster Hal Gill knows what he would have done if he had to face Forsberg.

Goaltending is an integral part of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. To better understand the strengths and weaknesses of each goaltender, the final 100 goals allowed for each goaltender in the regular season and each goal in the playoffs were charted, with the help of Apex Video Analysis and Save Review System from Upper Hand Inc., to see what patterns emerge.

TORONTO -- Frederik Andersen made 32 saves for the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 3-1 win against the Boston Bruins in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Air Canada Centre on Monday.

The series is tied 3-3. Game 7 is at Boston on Wednesday.

COLUMBUS -- The Washington Capitals advanced to the Eastern Conference Second Round with a 6-3 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Game 6 of the first round at Nationwide Arena on Monday.

Washington won the best-of-7 series 4-2 after losing the first two games at home in overtime. The Capitals will face the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round.

After the two home losses, the Capitals won the next two in Columbus, including a double overtime victory in Game 3. The fourth OT of the series was also won by the Capitals, 4-3 in Game 5 on Saturday.

Leave it to Frederik Andersen to stick it to the Boston Bruins again.

The 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs are almost here, meaning fans in fantasy postseason pools need to translate their bracket predictions into the overall player landscape.

Below are fantasy player rankings by position (forwards, defensemen, goalies) for basic postseason pools counting points (goals, assists) for skaters, as well as wins and shutouts for goalies. Whether you're doing an offline snake draft or another format, use this list as a basis for your decision-making.

Fans at Air Canada Centre were going wild after the Toronto Maple Leafs forced a deciding Game 7 with a win against the Boston Bruins Monday night. And Mitchell Marner needed someone to hug.

Enter Carlton the Bear.

The Washington Capitals advanced to the Eastern Conference Second Round and will play the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third straight season.

The Capitals defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-3 in Game 6 on Monday to win that best-of-7 series and will have home-ice advantage against the Penguins.

Goaltending is an integral part of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. To better understand the strengths and weaknesses of each goaltender, the final 100 goals allowed for each goaltender in the regular season and each goal allowed in the playoffs were charted, with the help of Apex Video Analysis and Save Review System from Upper Hand Inc., to see what patterns emerge.

Vegas Golden Knights No. 1 Marc-Andre Fleury and his San Jose Sharks counterpart, Martin Jones, posted equally impressive statistics while sweeping through the Western Conference First Round, but they achieved those results with very different puck-stopping styles.

SAN JOSE --Tomas Hertl was in his third game as a rookie with the San Jose Sharks four seasons ago when he scored four goals in a 9-2 victory against the New York Rangers at SAP Center, capped by a between-the-legs, backhand goal.

Hertl, a forward, had seven goals in his first five games and 15 in his first 32. His NHL trajectory was pointed straight up until a knee-on-knee collision with Los Angeles Kings forward Dustin Brown on Dec. 9, 2013, knocked him off course.

CALGARY -- Bill Peters was hired as coach of the Calgary Flames on Monday.

Peters, who resigned as coach of the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday, received a multiyear contract. He replaces Glen Gulutzan, who was fired April 17 after the Flames missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the seventh time in nine seasons.