The Washington Capitals will kick off the NHL postseason with a series against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Capitals announced the series schedule Sunday on Twitter:
- Game 1: Columbus at Washington, Thursday, April 12, 7:30 p.m. ET
- Game 2: Columbus at Washington, Sunday, April 15, time TBD
- Game 3: Washington at Columbus, Tuesday, April 17, time TBD
- Game 4: Washington at Columbus, Thursday, April 19, 7:30 p.m. ET
- Game 5, if needed: Columbus at Washington, Saturday, April 21, time TBD
- Game 6, if needed: Washington at Columbus, Tuesday, April 23, time TBD
- Game 7, if needed: Columbus at Washington, Thursday, April 25, time TBD
SEE YOU THURSDAY!! #CapsJackets https://t.co/l2J2RTXwNy#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/ZHyJJf6RXC
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) April 8, 2018
When the Pittsburgh Penguins won their regular season finale Friday night and locked up the second seed in the Metropolitan Division, three teams remained jostling for position, separated by one point: Columbus (97 points), New Jersey (97) and Philadelphia (96).
The Flyers won Saturday afternoon to move to 98 points, ahead of the other two teams, That night, neither the Blue Jackets nor the Devils won their season finales, meaning Philadelphia clinched the third seed in the division and Columbus and New Jersey were relegated to the conference’s wild cards. (Columbus beat New Jersey by a head-to-head tiebreaker to earn the higher wild card spot and draw the Capitals.)
Washington went 3-1-0 against Columbus in their four regular-season meetings.
If the Capitals advance to the second round, they will draw either the Penguins or the Flyers, who will face off in another first-round series.
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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