They learned during the game that they'll face the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round, the first playoff meeting between the two franchises.
- The entire playoff field is set except for the final spot in the Eastern Conference, with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the driver's seat.
The NHL playoff picture with the regular season ending Sunday: --- WHO'S IN EAST: The Toronto Maple Leafs' loss to Columbus sends them to Washington to face the Presidents' Trophy-winning Capitals on the brutal Metropolitan Division side of the draw.
The Maple Leafs meet Ottawa in the first round of the playoffs if they earn at least one point versus Columbus on Sunday.
Brown got the victor when he tipped a Jake Gardiner shot past Marc-Andre Fleury, with Nazem Kadri screening the goalie.
But history will not repeat itself in the Leafs-Capitals first-round playoff affair because Goliath would have won a Best of 7 series against David.
The Leafs return to the post-season isn't just about the jump from last year though, but from four years earlier when they last cracked the playoffs.
Matthews became the first player in history to score four goals in his National Hockey League debut, his rapid emergence, alongside a historic class of rookies, central to the Leafs leap up the standings.
Kadri, Gardiner, Bozak, Riemsdyk and Leo Komarov are the only remaining members of the Leafs last playoff team in 2013.
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Because it's a nonprofit, the Alabama Council for Excellent Government didn't have to disclose its financial supporters. The former governor must perform 100 hours of community service as a physician , and he will spend a year on probation.
"It's fun to talk about the kids because everyone thinks they are going to get better, but we wouldn't be here without good veterans leading the way", Babcock said.
The roster has been turned over nearly entirely too with the club also sporting a new logo and uniforms this season. A significant portion of the fans at Air Canada Centre, already on edge because of the game's high stakes, booed their former star scorer for the duration of the evening. He got Toronto on the board with a shortside strike from the left circle, his second goal in as many games. van Riemsdyk came calling again 4:33 later, scoring his 29th of the season and establishing a new career-high of 62 points. He then danced around Penguins defenceman Justin Schultz and beat Fleury for his 27th goal this year.
"We have put ourselves into the playoffs and that is a pretty drastic jump from previous year".
Tom Sestito bumped into Leafs goaltender Frederick Anderson at 2:01, making contact with his head and requiring Anderson to leave the ice with some assistance. Clutching his head, Andersen stayed down on the ice in obvious discomfort and after undergoing consultation with a team trainer, left the ice.
Babcock offered no details on what exactly transpired though, the Leafs equally secretive two weeks earlier when Andersen was bumped in similar fashion by Sabres forward William Carrier.
Sestito was assessed a minor penalty for goaltender interference at 2:05. San Jose defenseman Brent Burns earned an assist for his career-high 76th point, which broke the franchise record of 75 he set a year ago.
Crosby's power-play goal tied the score at 2 at 7:55, and it's one he's practiced often. Joonas Korpisalo stopped 30 shots for the Jackets, set for a first-round series with Pittsburgh.
The Leafs gradually took control of the first period and by the time it was done, had limited the Penguins to just seven shot attempts (including four shots on goal) while registering 23 of their own (with nine shots on goal).
In that game against Pittsburgh, rookie phenom Auston Matthews scored his 40th goal of the season. 40!
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