Once a victory seemed likely, the Washington Capitals put their focus

OTTAWA Womens Victor Rask Jersey , Ontario (AP) — Once a victory seemed likely, the Washington Capitals put their focus into finishing a memorable night for backup goalie Pheonix Copley.Copley made 35 saves for his first career shutout and the Capitals beat the Ottawa Senators 4-0 on Saturday night.Brett Connolly had a goal and an assist to give Copley all the support he needed.“We talked about (the shutout) between the second and third,” said Connolly. “It’s good to see him get that shutout. It’s obviously a big moment for him and he’s played so well this season.”Matt Niskanen, Jakub Vrana and Michal Kempny also scored for the Capitals (22-10-3). Washington is 7-1-0 in its past eight games and has scored at least four goals in 10 of its past 13.Mike McKenna stopped 29 shots in place of the injured Craig Anderson.Copley is the first rookie goalie to blank the Senators since James Reimer in 2011.“The guys did a great job blocking shots and denying them great chances,” said Copley. “It was a real good team win.”The score was hardly flattering to the Senators, but coach Guy Boucher wasn’t too disappointed by the effort.“It wasn’t a 4-0 game, that’s for sure Alex DeBrincat Jersey ,” Boucher said. “We played really well and had so many scoring chances and their goalie stoned us.”Washington took a 3-0 lead midway through the second when Vrana stole the puck from Mark Stone and beat McKenna with a flashy move. Kempny made it 4-0 at the 13-minute mark when his point shot deflected off Cody Ceci.The Senators trailed 2-0 after the first period, but it could have been more if it wasn’t for McKenna.Connolly opened the scoring at 1:32 when he redirected Jonas Siegenthaler’s point shot.“When we’re ahead in games we’re definitely better,” Connolly said. “We know when we’re behind we have a lot of guys that can hurt you as well, but when we get the first one we settle in and definitely on a back-to-back it makes it easier so it was good to get that first one.”McKenna made impressive glove saves on Andre Burakovsky and Travis Boyd. Bobby Ryan also stopped a sure goal when McKenna was caught out of position.The Capitals took a two-goal lead late in the period when Niskanen got behind Ceci and tipped Nicklas Backstrom’s pass for his fifth of the season.NOTES: With Anderson dealing with an upper-body injury, Marcus Hogberg was recalled from the American Hockey League’s Belleville Senators. … The Senators honored LPGA golfer and Smiths Falls, Ontario, native Brooke Henderson prior to the game and had her drop the puck. … Ottawa’s Tom Pyatt and Max Lajoie were healthy scratches. … Washington’s Tyler Lewington made his NHL debut Saturday night.UP NEXTCapitals: Host Carolina on Thursday night.Senators: Play at the New York Islanders on Friday night. NASHVILLE Cam Atkinson Jersey Kids , Tenn. (AP) Playing the Winnipeg Jets is exactly why Nashville coach Peter Laviolette wanted home-ice advantage in the NHL playoffs.Even if it’s a round – or two – earlier than anyone really wants.Laviolette’s Predators play Winnipeg in the Western Conference semifinals after turning in their best season in franchise history to grab the right to start and end a series in the place called ”Smashville.”They edged out their Central Division rival by a mere three points for the Presidents’ Trophy, and this will be just the fifth series since 1990 between the NHL’s top two teams in the regular season.”They wanted divisional battles, got them,” Laviolette said. ”This should be a big series.”It’s the second straight postseason that division foes and the league’s top finishers meet in this round. Pittsburgh, which wound up beating Nashville in the Stanley Cup Final, advanced to the Eastern finals by downing the Capitals in Game 7 in Washington.Winnipeg and Nashville played so well that this series has been anticipated for weeks, so good it could be a Cup Final despite the Predators winning the regular-season series 3-1-1. Nashville defenseman P.K. Subban dismissed such talk Thursday www.kingsproshop.com , noting this round remains a long way from the Stanley Cup Final.A thrilling series with lots of speed and goals? That the Jets and Predators can provide.”The thing about winning, and I’m sure you ask anybody who’s won a Cup, is the steps that it takes to get there,” Subban said. ”You have to go through some thick walls, and this is definitely one of the thickest walls that we’re going to have to get through to get there.”Winnipeg goes against the defending Western Conference champs coming off the franchise’s first postseason series victory after relocating from Atlanta in 2011 with 10 Jets making their playoff debuts against the Wild. Winnipeg center Bryan Little says that makes the Jets the underdogs by just a little bit.”It’s going to be a really tough series and a tight series, so I think that’s why everyone’s so excited about it,” Little said.Some things to know before Game 1 on Friday night:VEZINA FINALISTSGoalies for both the Jets and Predators are finalists for the Vezina Trophy with Nashville veteran Pekka Rinne looking to win the award in his fourth try.Connor Hellebuyck made his postseason debut Womens Josh Anderson Jersey , shutting out Minnesota twice with a 1.94 goals-against average and .924 save percentage. Rinne’s numbers weren’t nearly as glitzy against Colorado, but he tightened up over the final three games with a 1.34 GAA and .951 save percentage, including a shutout in the series clincher.HOME AND ROADNobody was better in the NHL at home than the Jets who went 32-7-2, and they have won 12 straight in Winnipeg, including all three in ousting Minnesota. The Jets haven’t lost at home since Feb. 27 – to Nashville. The Predators were the league’s best away from home (25-9-7). The Predators won twice on the road in the first round, including clinching in Colorado in Game 6.OFFENSIVE FIREPOWEREven with Rinne and Hellebuyck in net, these teams combined for 42 goals in five games in the regular season with Nashville outscoring the Jets 22-20. It was the most goals the Jets scored against any team Adam Henrique Jersey , while they also gave up the most goals to any opponent. The Jets also ranked second in the regular season for both most goals (273) and average goals per game (3.33)SHUT DOWN WHO?Nashville’s top trio is nicknamed the ”JOFA” line for Ryan Johansen, Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson. But the Predators’ top scoring line against Colorado was their third line of center Nick Bonino with Austin Watson and Colton Sissons, who combined for 19 points. The Jets can match Nashville’s scoring depth with seven players scoring at least 43 points in the regular season led by Blake Wheeler (91 points) and Patrik Laine (team-high 44 goals).SO DEFENSIVENashville has four of the NHL’s best defensemen in Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis, Subban and Mattias Ekholm. But the group that led the league with 55 goals only had one goal in the first round, and that came in Game 6 from Ekholm. Subban says defending comes first for a team that ranked second in the regular season in allowing both the second-fewest goals (204) and average goals per game (2.49).—