The Washington Capitals rode high into this Sunday matinee against the Boston Bruins on the heels of back-to-back victories against quality opponents in the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Pittsburgh Penguins. And while it seemed for a moment like the stakes for this home stretch towards the playoffs would be non-existent with playoff seeding locked, a Penguins losing streak has opened the window for the Caps to climb out of a very difficult first-round wildcard matchup.
Here’s what the Caps lines looked like, with Nicklas Backstrom getting a late scratch, for maintenance purposes according to the team, and Connor Sheary drawing back in after missing some time with a non-COVID illness.