It’s almost summer which means it’s time for the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. Last year the Washington Capitals pulled out an amazing win against the Las Vegas Golden Knights. They won five games out of the seven-game series.  

This round the Tampa Bay Lightning lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Toronto Maple Leafs lost to the Boston Bruins. Washington Capitals, last years Stanley Cup Champions, lost to the Carolina Hurricanes. The Pittsburgh Penguins lost to the New York Islanders. Nashville Predators lost to the Dallas Stars. The Winnipeg Jets lost to the St Louis Blues. The Calgary Flames lost to the Colorado Avalanche. Las Vegas Vikings lost to the San Jose Sharks. All of the winning teams will now move on and play the next team in their division.

Those of you who are fans of the Washington Capitals, I’m sure it was devastating to see them lose to the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the playoffs. The capitals were up 2-0 in the first quarter. Andre Burakovsky scored the first goal within the first three minutes of the game. The second goal was scored by Tom Wilson, number 43. Within the next 10 minutes, the caps were received a power play. Unfortunately, while they had an extra player, the Hurricanes managed to score a short-handed shot, bringing the game to 2-1. The game then carried on with great offense and mediocre defense by the capitals. Another goal was scored near the end of the first quarter by Evgeny Kuznetsov, number 92 on the Capitals. Not only did this put the game at 3-1, but it was also an amazing goal to see because Kuznetsov had not been playing at his full potential in the other games. Throughout the rest of the game, the Hurricanes scored two more goals, putting the score at 3-3. This score resulted in overtime, and then soon enough, double overtime. Many angry fans believed that the Capitals choked and really went off their A game during overtime. The first goal scored in double overtime was the winning goal. Unfortunately, Brock Mcginn, number 23 on the Hurricanes scored, leading the game to 4-3 with Carolina winning.

Quotes frome an interview of die hard Caps fans:“It was so disappointing to see the Capitals going from Stanley Cup champions to not even winning the first round of playoffs.” Shannon Sweeney (9)

“The capitals choked under pressure and played pretty bad in the last quarter and overtime, which I hate because I wasn’t ready to see them leave yet.” Ashley Turner (9)

If you tuned into the hockey game, were you overjoyed or devastated with the outcome?