CRAIG ANDERSON

Joe Thornton’s career may be over.

The airing of grievances and expressions of frustrations which commonly followed each of the Sabres' previous 10 losing seasons were notably absent on Saturday. At a time Buffalo set an NHL record by missing the playoffs for an 11th straight year, the mood was unmistakably upbeat among players gathering one final time. “It’s definitely a different feeling this year,” said forward Zemgus Girgensons, the team’s longest-tenured player after completing his eighth season in Buffalo.

The home opener, 8,467 attended the game, in game 2: 7,872, in game 3: 7,376. In the 2019-2020 season, the Sabres averaged over 17,000 fans per game.

Student athletes at scores of Illinois public and private high schools will be prohibited from participating in playoff games this fall unless their local school boards agree to comply with Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s COVID-19 school mask mandate, Illinois High School Association officials said Tuesday.

Craig Smith scored 5:48 into the second overtime to give the Boston Bruins a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals and a 2-1 lead in their East Division first-round playoff series.

Bruins Capitals Hockey Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron (37) celebrates his goal with defenseman Matt Grzelcyk (48), right wing David Pastrnak (88) and center Brad Marchand (63) during the first period of Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Washington Capitals Monday, May 17, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (Alex Brandon)WASHINGTON — (AP) — Brad Marchand scored 39 seconds into overtime after teammate Taylor Hall tied the game late in regulation, and the Boston Bruins rallied to beat the Washington Capitals 4-3 Monday night, tying the East Division first-round playoff series at a game apiece. Marchand was Boston's OT hero in a game in which he made more noise for taking post-whistle penalties than producing. The Capitals and Bruins are certainly no strangers to it. ___Follow AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno___More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Brad Marchand scored 39 seconds into overtime and the Boston Bruins rallied to beat the Washington Capitals 4-3 and even the East Division first-round series at a game apiece.

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (Alex Brandon)WASHINGTON — (AP) — Nic Dowd deflected in T.J. Oshie's shot from the blue line 4:41 into overtime to give the Washington Capitals a 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins on Saturday night in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series. OSHIE STEPS UP AS CENTERNormally a right wing, Oshie played out of position as Washington’s third-line center with Evgeny Kuznetsov unavailable due to COVID-19 protocols. NEW FACES IN NEW PLACESCapitals defenseman Zdeno Chara faced the Bruins in a playoff game for the first time after he spent 14 years as Boston’s captain. Also, former Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall made his Bruins playoff debut a month after joining them as a trade-deadline acquisition from Buffalo. The second-line left wing had two shots in 17:49 of ice time.

Nic Dowd deflected in T.

Flyers Capitals Hockey Washington Capitals goaltender Craig Anderson reaches for the puck during the first period of the team's NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Saturday, May 8, 2021, in Washington. Failing to win in regulation gave the East Division title to the rival Pittsburgh Penguins. Coming back to beat the Flyers was itself quite the accomplishment given Washington’s recent run of injuries and drama surrounding key players. KEMPNY INJURED IN HERSHEYThe Capitals' injury problems extend all the way to Hershey. ___Follow AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno___More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Conor Sheary scored the overtime winner and the short-handed Washington Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 to guarantee they’ll open the playoffs at home.

Washington Capitals right wing T.J. Oshie (77) celebrates his goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils, Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)WASHINGTON – T.J. Oshie scored twice to end a lengthy drought, Alex Ovechkin had a late power-play goal and the Washington Capitals came back from down two to beat the New Jersey Devils 4-3 on Sunday. Anderson and New Jersey's Aaron Dell each hadn't started an NHL game in more than 11 months. The Capitals and Devils each played at home Saturday afternoon, so this adjustment was possible. Samsonov got two minor league rehab starts but hasn't played an NHL game since Jan. 17.

New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafrenire (13) scores a goal past Washington Capitals goaltender Vitek Vanecek (41) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, in Washington. Also seen are Capitals defenseman John Carlson (74) and Rangers center Mika Zibanejad (93). Lafrenière scored his second NHL goal, Panarin had two assists and the Rangers made the best of a new-look lineup, beating the Washington Capitals 4-1 Saturday for their second consecutive victory. Panarin set up Lafrenière on the doorstep late in the second period, and his shot provided the rebound for Chris Kreider's power-play goal in the first. Zibanejad's goal was just his second since last season after scoring 41 in 57 games in 2019-20.

(AP Photo/Nick Wass)WASHINGTON – Scott Laughton scored his first career hat trick, Sean Couturier had two goals in his first game back following a rib injury and the Philadelphia Flyers pulled away for a 7-4 victory over the Washington Capitals on Sunday. “It’s a big win after losing those two games the way we did to Boston,” Flyers coach Alain Vigneault said. Laughton completed his hat trick to give the Flyers insurance on another rebound after Anderson’s pad save of Farabee, and Couturier added a late empty netter. MILESTONESFlyers: Van Riemsdyk contributed his 100th assist across two stints with the Flyers on Laughton's second goal. AdUP NEXTThe Capitals and Flyers meet again in Washington on Tuesday night.

Lundqvist signed with the Capitals when free agency opened Friday, Oct. 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)Nets around the NHL will look very different next season after a flurry of musical goaltenders in free agency. "You saw the goalie carousel take place," said San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson, who traded for goalie Devan Dubnyk this week. 1 goalies.”After trading Dubnyk to San Jose, the Minnesota Wild signed former Flames goalie Cam Talbot to an $11 million, three-year deal. After losing series to them in 2009 and 2011, Lundqvist eliminated the Capitals three times: 2012, 2013 and 2015.