ILYA SAMSONOV

Goalies are, by far, the most frustrating part of the experience, which is why they're part of the focus of this week's Trade Targets column. The big boon from playing with Kaprizov will come on the power play, anyway, and this is where Eriksson Ek has some hidden fantasy value because he's the pivot on Minnesota's top unit. Trade AwayDevon Toews, D, Avalanche (93% rostered)Toews is one of those players who's excellent in real life but not so much in fantasy. Coming into the season as a potential top-five goalie, Demko has been one of the most disappointing fantasy players this season. Demko's fantasy value may be at its lowest, but there's a ton of name recognition and he could still net a top-line forward or defenseman in a swap.

Phil Kessel matched the NHL record for consecutive games played, Chandler Stephenson scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1.

The prime takeaway here is that all these players could return major value relative to where they'll generally be taken in this year's fantasy drafts. [Get in on the fun this fantasy hockey season: Create or join a league now!] If Samsonov is able to secure the Maple Leafs' top job, he should be a top-10 fantasy goaltender, easily surpassing the 30-win mark. It wouldn't be surprising to see Heiskanen rack up 60-plus points and garner Norris Trophy consideration in 2022-23. Don't be surprised if Toffoli smashes his career highs of 31 goals and 58 points this season.

The Columbus Blue Jackets made the biggest splash in NHL free agency, stunning the league by landing Johnny Gaudreau with a seven-year contract for $68.25 million.

The goalie carousel continues to spin even before the second day of the NHL draft begins.

T.J. Oshie scored twice for Washington, which also got a goal from Justin Schultz and two assists from Evgeny Kuznetsov. Bobrovsky slammed the door from there, Giroux scored the insurance goal at 15:55, and the Comeback Cats had done it again. This was the season of the comeback for Florida, which had an NHL-best 29 come-from-behind wins during the regular season. In a span of 7:51, Florida went from down three and in huge trouble to tied going into the third. That would be the Florida Panthers.

Carter Verhaeghe set a Florida postseason record with a five-point night and the Florida Panthers escaped a three-goal deficit to beat the Washington Capitals 5-3 and take a 3-2 lead in an Eastern Conference first-round series.

Sam Reinhart tied it late in regulation, Carter Verhaeghe scored his second of the game in overtime and the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Florida Panthers beat the Washington Capitals 3-2 in Game 4 to tie the first-round series.

The pressure is squarely on the Florida Panthers, New York Rangers and Calgary Flames down two games to one in their respective first-round series.

Panthers Capitals Hockey Washington Capitals goaltender Ilya Samsonov (30) and Florida Panthers left wing Jonathan Huberdeau (11) watch as the puck deflects off the pads of Samsonov during the second period of Game 3 in the first-round of the NHL Stanley Cup hockey playoffs, Saturday, May 7, 2022, in Washington. Samsonov made 29 saves, Alex Ovechkin scored a power-play goal and assisted on another and the Capitals blew out the Panthers 6-1 in Game 3 to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round series. The Panthers also led the league in scoring at more than four goals a game. The Eastern Conference eighth-seeded Capitals improved to 4 of 12 on the power play in the series. ___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_SportsCopyright 2022 The Associated Press.

Ilya Samsonov made 29 saves as the Washington Capitals beat the Florida Panthers 6-1 in Game 3 to take a lead in their first-round playoff series.

Capitals Panthers Hockey Florida Panthers teammates celebrate a goal by Florida Panthers left wing Mason Marchment (17) during the second period of Game 2 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series , Thursday, May 5, 2022, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier) (Marta Lavandier)SUNRISE, Fla. — (AP) — Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe each had a goal and an assist and the Florida Panthers beat the Washington Capitals 5-1 on Thursday night to even the Eastern Conference first-round series at a game apiece. The series shifts to Washington, with Game 3 on Saturday and Game 4 on Monday night. The Capitals were without Tom Wilson, who left Game 1 shortly after scoring the opening goal of the series and did not return because of a lower-body injury. His status is listed as day-to-day by the Capitals, who recalled forward Brett Leason from Hershey of the AHL earlier Thursday. ... Florida made one change from Game 1 to Game 2, putting Noel Acciari in the lineup for Ryan Lomberg.

Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe each had a goal and an assist and the Florida Panthers topped the Washington Capitals 5-1 on Thursday night to even their Eastern Conference first-round series at a game apiece.

The eight playoff teams in the Eastern Conference have been set since before the All-Star break.

The first-round matchups are set for the NHL playoffs that begin Monday.

Most Russian players in the National Hockey League have remained silent about their country's invasion of Ukraine.

Blue Jackets Capitals Hockey Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) celebrates his goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021, in Washington. Ovechkin beat Daniil Tarasov for his 20th goal of the season and 750th of his NHL career to help the Washington Capitals beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 Saturday night and snap a two-game skid. Ovechkin went up against against Vadim Tarasov during three seasons in the Russian Superleague from 2002-05 before coming to North America. After ending a two-game goal drought, Ovechkin now trails Jagr by 16 goals for third on the career list. Forward Gregory Hofmann replaced Jack Roslovic in the Blue Jackets lineup.

Alex Ovechkin scored his 20th goal of the season and the 750th of his NHL career to help the Washington Capitals beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 and snap a two-game skid.

LOS ANGELES — (AP) — Garnet Hathaway scored twice late in the third period and the Washington Capitals beat Los Angeles 2-0 Wednesday night, snapping the Kings' eight-game point streak. The Capitals extended their point streak to six (5-0-1) with the win. “It was a really good performance by him. He did a really good job,” Laviolette said of Samsanov. It is the second time the Kings, 7-0-1 during their streak, have been shut out this season.

Capitals Kings Hockey Los Angeles Kings center Andreas Athanasiou (22) jumps over Washington Capitals defenseman Justin Schultz (2) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis) (Ashley Landis)LOS ANGELES — (AP) — Garnet Hathaway scored twice late in the third period and the Washington Capitals beat Los Angeles 2-0 Wednesday night, snapping the Kings' eight-game point streak. Quick, who stopped 36 shots, had a four-game winning streak snappedLos Angeles had a pair of scoring chances in the second but came away empty. Samsanov made a sprawling save on a wrist shot by Trevor Moore seven minutes into the period. He then made a pad save on Matt Roy's shot from the point and two subsequent rebound chances by Moore late in the period.

Garnet Hathaway a pair of goals during a two-minute span in the third period and the Washington Capitals snapped the Los Angeles Kings eight-game point streak with a 2-0 victory Wednesday night.

Alex Ovechkin got his 742nd career goal, Conor Sheary scored with 1:22 left and the Washington Capitals beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3.

The New York Rangers locked up their goaltending by agreeing to sign Igor Shesterkin to a four-year $22.6 million contract.

Alex Ovechkin has re-signed with the Washington Capitals for $47.5 million over five years.

(AP Photo/Charles Krupa) (Charles Krupa)Just when the New York Islanders got finished with Jeff Carter lighting it up against them with Pittsburgh, they face another significant trade deadline pickup in Taylor Hall and the Boston Bruins. The Islanders might not even be in the second round if not for a trade to get Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac from New Jersey. The Bruins also needed Mike Reilly arguably as much as Hall in the first round after their blue line was hit with injuries. From Hall and Reilly to Palmieri and Zajac and David Savard with the Tampa Bay Lightning, trade deadline acquisitions big and small are already paying major dividends in the NHL playoffs. They paid the price of a first-round pick this year to get rugged, big-minute defenseman David Savard from Columbus at the deadline.

Trade deadline acquisitions are already paying big dividends for teams that have advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs.

The St. Louis Blues were swept in the first round by Colorado after three players who said they were vaccinated against COVID-19 tested positive, landed on the league’s protocol list and were unavailable. “The rules (say) if you tested positive for COVID, then they retest the test and if it (came back) positive you have to quarantine for 10 days,” Kuznetsov said Tuesday. The NHL last week investigated testing irregularities that led to multiple false positives for the Blues and Vegas Golden Knights and found it to be a laboratory error. After 51 regular-season games were postponed, none have had to be pushed back so far in the playoffs. ___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

Players testing positive for the coronavirus late in the NHL's regular season and at the start of the playoffs affected multiple teams.

Bruins Capitals Hockey Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) celebrates his goal with center David Krejci (46) during the second period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Washington Capitals, Sunday, May 23, 2021, in Washington. Bergeron scored twice at crucial times after Pastrnak's highlight-reel goal, Rask made 40 saves and the Bruins eliminated the Washington Capitals in five games with a 3-1 victory Sunday night. Those were occasionally interrupted by “We want the Cup!” — the trophy the Bruins last won a decade ago after a 39-year title drought. It's a third consecutive first-round exit for Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals since they won the Stanley Cup in 2018. The longtime Bruins captain who lifted the Cup in 2011 signed with Washington on a one-year deal and turned 44 in March.

The Boston Bruins beat the Washington Capitals 3-1 to close out their first-round series in five games and advance in the playoffs.

Capitals Bruins Hockey Boston Bruins' Charlie Coyle (13) scores on Washington Capitals goalie Ilya Samsonov (30) during the third period in Game 4 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Friday, May 21, 2021, in Boston. Alex Ovechkin made it 3-1 with 15 minutes left in the game when his shot was deflected into the net by Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo. But Matt Grzelcyk restored the three-goal lead on a power-play goal — Boston's third of the game — with five minutes left. Brad Marchand also scored for Boston, which will have a chance to eliminate the Capitals in Game 4 in Washington on Sunday. But it was still scoreless until Marchand tipped in Pastrnak's shot on the power play with 12 minutes left in the second.

David Pastrnak and Charlie Coyle scored 34 seconds apart to break the game open early in the third period and give Boston to a 4-1 victory over the Washington Capitals.

Capitals Bruins Hockey Boston Bruins right wing Craig Smith, left, is congratulated after his game-winning goal against the Washington Capitals during a second overtime period of Game 3 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Wednesday, May 19, 2021, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) (Charles Krupa)BOSTON — (AP) — Craig Smith scored 5:48 into the second overtime Wednesday night 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. It was the 11th straight one-goal playoff game between them since 1998. Smith also had an assist, and Brad Marchand and Taylor Hall also scored for Boston. OT INJURIESThe second overtime started out with a slew of injuries.

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.

The NHL has cleared the St. Louis Blues and Vegas Golden Knights after virus testing errors.

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.

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.

Daniel Sprong scored twice in injured Alex Ovechkin's place on Washington’s top line, Ilya Samsonov made 21 saves and the Capitals beat the New York Islanders 6-3.

Alex Ovechkin scored twice to move within one goal of Marcel Dionne for fifth place on the NHL’s career goals list as the Washington Capitals downed the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3.

Anthony Mantha had a two points in his Washington debut, Alex Ovechkin scored the 728th goal of his NHL career and the Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers 6-1.

Henrik Lundqvist says a checkup last week showed inflammation around his heart, a setback that will prevent the 39-year-old goaltender from playing for the Washington Capitals this season.

Mathew Barzal had three goals and two assists, Jordan Eberle scored twice, and the New York Islanders beat the Washington Capitals 8-4.

(AP Photo/Nick Wass)WASHINGTON – Capitals players and coach Peter Laviolette sounded as if they'd lost after holding on to beat the New York Rangers 5-4 Sunday. Washington has won 10 of 11 games to move two points up on the second-place New York Islanders and looks primed for another deep playoff run. “If there’s a trend, we want to address it,” said Wilson, who has five points in four games since returning from a seven-game suspension. And their best players are producing: Ovechkin has 11 goals in 11 games and leads the team with 18; Kuznetsov has 12 points in 10 games and Jakub Vrana picked up his first point in five games. Keith Kinkaid made 17 saves for the Rangers, who have lost back-to-back one-goal games after a three-game winning streak.

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) celebrates his goal with the bench during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils, Friday, March 26, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)WASHINGTON – Alex Ovechkin scored twice, Ilya Samsonov made 24 saves and the Washington Capitals rode their best players to a 4-0 victory Friday night and two-game sweep of the New Jersey Devils. Ovechkin has scored 10 times in his past 10 games and has a team-best 17 goals this season. “He’s probably the hottest guy in the league now, but it seems like every shot he takes is dangerous. Thank you, team.”With Ovechkin rolling, the Capitals have won nine of their past 10 games and are back atop the East Division.

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.

Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) celebrates his goal with the bench during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Monday, Feb. 1, 2021, in Washington. Buoyed by their top scorer's first two goals of the season and a big rookie's fight against one of the toughest players in hockey, the Bruins erased a three-goal deficit to beat the Washington Capitals 5-3 on Monday night. “In the box, I was like a little kid in there just jumping around when we scored,” Frederic said. The Capitals had front-row seats for Pastrnak's breakout performance in his second game after undergoing offseason hip surgery. Former Bruins captain Zdeno Chara scored in his second game against his old team.

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8), of Russia, celebrates his game-winning goal in overtime of an NHL hockey game against the Boston Bruins, Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021, in Washington. In his first game since Jan. 19, Ovechkin scored in overtime to help the Washington Capitals beat the Boston Bruins 4-3 Saturday night in a showdown between the top teams in the NHL’s East Division. After Ovechkin missed the previous four games because of COVID-19 protocols, the high-scoring forward showed his career-long flair for the dramatic by beating Tuukka Rask with a perfect shot 28 seconds into overtime. “It was fun,” said Ovechkin, who also had an assist while being eased back in with 14 minutes of ice time. The Capitals beat the Bruins for the 17th time in 19 regular-season games dating to 2015.

(AP Photo/Nick Wass)WASHINGTON – Jakub Vrana had a goal and an assist, Vitek Vanecek made 24 saves through overtime and the short-handed Washington Capitals beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 in a shootout Friday night in their home opener. Vanecek was perfect in the shootout to pick up his second victory of the season as defenseman John Carlson scored the shootout winner. Buffalo rookie Dylan Cozens scored his first NHL goal on a top-shelf snipe past Vanecek in the second period. Eric Staal and Riley Sheahan each scored his first goal since joining the Sabres. Linus Ullmark made 29 saves and was spotless in the shootout until Carlson beat him.

For Peter Laviolette, his Washington Capitals will keep playing for the next week without four prominent players who broke the rules. There's no indication the Capitals are being shut down, though they will have to play the next four games without captain Alex Ovechkin, No. The NHL defers to local authorities, and the minimum four games for the Capitals players relates to the District of Columbia's quarantine regulations. The Hurricanes have so far had three games postponed because of their outbreak and won't play for at least a week. I think that’s really what we’re going to find out.”___AP Sports Writers Aaron Beard and Stephen Hawkins contributed.

Five players from the Carolina Hurricanes also are on the list and that team’s games were called off by the league through “at least” Saturday. The postponements were announced Wednesday, a day before the Hurricanes were set to host the Florida Panthers in their home opener. This is the first instance this season of Capitals players appearing on the NHL’s COVID-19 list, which could include those who test positive, have a potential exposure or face quarantine requirements. The league didn’t specify which team prompted that night’s postponement, although four Hurricanes players — Warren Foegele, Jordan Martinook, Jaccob Slavin and Teuvo Teravainen — were added to the daily COVID-19 list later Tuesday afternoon. Their past five games have been postponed during a stretch in which six Wizards players tested positive for the illness caused by the coronavirus and three others were sidelined after contact tracing determined they might have been exposed.

DeSmith figured Ovechkin would try to fire one past him rather than deke his way to the net. DeSmith stayed upright as Ovechkin closed in and felt the familiar smack of rubber hitting him and not the net. “I thought our guys played hard in the second and third against a really good team,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. While Sullivan remains confident Jarry will be fine, he turned to DeSmith to help get Pittsburgh going. Washington went 1 for 4 on the power play, a tap-in goal by Backstrom in the second that gave the Capitals a 3-2 lead.

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.