No. 1 Washington vs. No. 5 Tampa Bay
(Lightning lead series 2-0)

Game 1: Lightning 4, Capitals 2

Game 2: Lightning 3, Capitals 2 (OT)
Washington once again came up empty on six power plays - and is now 0-for-11 in the series - and despite a late goal by Alex Ovechkin to force overtime, Tampa Bay’s Vincent Lecavalier took advantage of a bad line change from the Caps to put home the game-winning goal and give the Lightning a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Dwayne Roloson made 35 saves for the Lightning who were out-shot 37-23 but converted on one of their five power play opportunities to take a 1-0 lead late in the first period. Brooks Laich knocked home a loose puck in front of the net to tie the game late in the second, but Martin St. Louis put Tampa on top once again 7:35 into the third when he was credited with a flukey goal that went off the skate of Mike Green and into the net. Ovechkin’s tying goal came with just 1:08 remaining in regulation and it appeared the Caps had all the momentum heading into the extra period. But Lecavalier found space on the wing during a sloppy Capitals line change and slotted the puck past Michal Neuvirth at 6:19 in overtime to seal Tampa’s fifth consecutive postseason victory.
Vincent Lecavalier fires the game-winning goal past Michal Neuvirth in overtime. (John McDonnell - THE WASHINGTON POST)

Quote of the night: “We’re going there, and we’re going to win two games. It’s going to be hard, but right now in this situation, we have to win.” — Alex Ovechkin on the dire circumstances facing the Capitals after Sunday’s defeat

Game 3: Tuesday at Tampa Bay, 6:30 (CSN, Versus)

Game 4: Wednesday at Tampa Bay, 7 (CSN)

*Game 5: Saturday, May 7 at Washington, 12:30 (NBC)

*Game 6: Monday, May 9 at Tampa Bay, TBD (CSN, Versus)

*Game 7: Wednesday, May 11 at Washington, TBD (CSN, Versus)

- Read Katie’s full game story from Sunday’s overtime contest here

- Washington’s 0-2 hole should come as no surprise to those familiar with this budding rivalry between the top two teams in the Southeast, writes Washington Post columnist Tracee Hamilton

- The Caps may have run into another hot goalie in 41-year-old veteran Dwayne Roloson, which could continue to spell trouble, writes Gene Wang

- Track every shot and goal from the series with our interactive shot tracker

- From Capitals Insider: One bad line change by the Caps resulted in Tampa’s game-winning overtime goal

- More from the Insider: The power outage on Washington’s power play continued Sunday

- Ovechkin says the “series is not over” despite the Caps falling into an 0-2 hole on home ice

- Box score

- Box Seats fan blogger Ryan Cooper: It’s much too early to lose faith in the Capitals’ ability to win this series

- The Caps were in a similar 0-2 hole against the Rangers back in 2009, Dan Steinberg dug up the media’s stories from those dark days

- More from the Insider: Updates from the Capitals’ lightly-attended optional Monday morning practice

- From the Tampa Tribune: Despite several key injuries, the Lightning walked out of Washington with a 2-0 series lead

- Role players like Steve Downie and Sean Bergenheim are stepping up huge for the Lightning in the postseason (Tampa Tribune)

- Vinny Lecavalier has returned to the spotlight and the role of savior for Tampa, writes St. Petersburg Times columnist John Romano

No. 2 Philadelphia vs. No. 3 Boston
(Bruins lead series 1-0)

Game 1: Bruins 7, Flyers 3

Game 2: Tonight at Philadelphia, 7:30 (Versus)

Game 3: Wednesday at Boston, 7 (Versus)

Game 4: Friday at Boston, 8 (Versus)

*Game 5: Sunday at Philadelphia, 3 (NBC)

*Game 6: Tuesday at Boston, TBD (Versus)

*Game 7: Thursday at Philadelphia, TBD (Versus)

- Tim Thomas is making the difference in net for the Bruins while the Flyers continue to struggle to find consistency in between the pipes

- The Flyers took a long look at their myriad mistakes in Game 1 and it wasn’t pretty (Philadelphia Inquirer)

- Boston is still struggling to find its way on the power play (Boston Globe)

- More from the Boston Globe: The Bruins are bracing themselves for a strong rebound from Philadelphia in Game 2

- From the Boston Herald: Despite a surprisingly easy victory in Game 1, the Bruins know the Flyers will fight back to try to even the series tonight in Philadelphia

- Bruins left winger Milan Lucic is ready to crank up his game after a slow start to the playoffs (Boston Herald)

No. 1 Vancouver vs. No. 5 Nashville
(Series tied 1-1)

Game 1: Canucks 1, Predators 0

Game 2: Predators 2, Canucks 1 (2OT)

Game 3: Tuesday at Nashville, 9 (Versus)

Game 4: Thursday, May 3 at Nashville, 8:30 (Versus)

Game 5: Saturday, May 7 at Vancouver, 8 (Versus)

*Game 6: Monday, May 9 at Nashville, TBD (Versus)

*Game 7: Wednesday, May 11 at Vancouver, TBD (Versus)

- The Predators have put their full trust in Vezina trophy finalist Pekka Rinne and their goalie has not let them down

- After shutting out the Sedin twins through two games, Nasvhille has plenty to be excited about heading back hom for Game 3 (Vancouver Sun)

- The Predators got down and dirty to grind out a perfect road win Saturday in Vancouver, writes Vancouver Sun columnist Cam Cole

- Generally known for his defense it was Ryan Suter’s offense that gave the Predators an overtime victory in Game 2 (The Tennessean)

- Pekka Rinne is standing on his head, and at the moment at least, there’s nothing the Canucks can do about it, writes Tennessean columnist David Climer

- Canucks Alain Vigneault says what his team needs is a couple days off (Vancouver Sun)

No. 2 San Jose vs. No. 3 Detroit
(Sharks lead series 2-0)

Game 1: Sharks 2, Red Wings 1 (OT)

Game 2: Sharks 2, Red Wings 1
Antti Niemi put forth his second straight dominant performance in goal and San Jose got a pair of goals from defensemen Ian White and Niclas Wallin as the Sharks grabbed a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven series. Niemi - who helped lead Chicago to the Stanley Cup by beating San Jose last spring - survived three short-handed situations early in the first period and continued to come through in the clutch with numerous big saves the rest of the way. White’s goal came on the power play in the first period and Wallin’s tally extended the Sharks’ lead early in the third. Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard was again a bright spot for Detroit as he made 35 saves on the night but got little help from his offense.
Sharks goalie Antti Niemi covers up his post as Red Wings right wing Daniel Cleary looks for space to shoot the puck. Niemi finished with 33 saves. (Jeff Chiu - AP)

Quote of the night: “When it comes to snow showers, I have no time for gimmicks and that type of crap. If our players are doing that, they’re going to hear from me first. But they’re going to hear from me even more when they don’t go to the net and stop on a loose puck.” — Sharks Coach Todd McLellan on Detroit’s complaints that San Jose players are spraying Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard with snow

Game 3: Wednesday at Detroit, 8 (Versus)

Game 4: Friday, May 6 at Detroit, 7 (Versus)

*Game 5: Sunday, May 8 at San Jose, 8 (Versus)

*Game 6: Tuesday, May 10 at Detroit, TBD (Versus)

*Game 7: Thursday, May 12 at San Jose TBD (Versus)

- Read the full story from Sunday’s Game 2

- Joe Pavelski continues to get it done in the playoffs for the Sharks

- The Sharks are in Detroit’s heads and the Red Wings are beginning to show “the classic signs of a mentally bumfoozled team,” writes San Jose Merucry News columnist Mark Purdy

- San Jose’s defense has been on the offensive in the playoffs so far (San Jose Mercury News)

- With his first-round struggles out of sight and out of mind, San Jose goalie Antti Niemi is winning the battle in goal against the Red Wings, writes Detroit Free-Press columnist Drew Sharp

- The Red Wings - and particularly goalie Jimmy Howard who has seen his share of ice showers so far in this series - need to work on their anger management if they hope to rebound when the series moves to Detroit (Detroit Free-Press)

*If neccessary