WASHINGTON -- Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov scored and the Washington Capitals wrapped up their second consecutive Presidents' Trophy with a 2-0 victory over the New York Rangers on Wednesday night.
As Metropolitan Division champions, the top seed in the Eastern Conference and the team with the most points in the NHL, the Capitals wrapped up home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. It's their third Presidents' Trophy in the past eight seasons.
Ovechkin reclaimed the team lead in goals by scoring on the power play in the second period, beating Henrik Lundqvist from his trademark spot in the faceoff circle. Kuznetsov scored off the rush in the third period, and the best home team in the league beat the best road team thanks to a 24-save shutout from Vezina Trophy candidate Braden Holtby (see full recap).
Sabres snap Canadiens' 5-game win streak with 2-1 victory
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Rasmus Ristolainen and Tyler Ennis scored and the Buffalo Sabres closed their home schedule with a 2-1 victory Wednesday night to snap the Montreal Canadiens' five-game winning streak.
Robin Lehner stopped 31 shots in a game the Sabres hung on to win after building a 2-0 lead through two periods.
Tomas Plekanec scored for the Canadiens and Carey Price stopped 28 shots in what was essentially a mean-nothing game between two Atlantic Division rivals.
Buffalo has already been eliminated from playoff contention to extend the franchise's longest postseason drought to six years. The Sabres did hit a milestone by finishing with a 20-15-6 home record to reach the 20-win mark for the first time since a 21-12-8 finish in 2011-12 (see full recap).
