The Washington Post - USA (2022-05-15)

D6 EZ M2 THE WASHINGTON POST.SUNDAY, MAY 15 , 2022

the period on a terrific play on

which h e kicked t he p uck f rom his

skate to his stick.

l HURRICANES 3, BRUINS

2: Twice before, Carolina had

reached the playoffs only to have

its ascent blocked by Boston.

This time a round, two newcom-

ers helped the Hurricanes push

past their playoff bully.

Midseason acquisition Max

Domi scored twice in the second

period, and offseason signee Antti

Raanta made 27 saves as Carolina

beat the B ruins in Raleigh, N.C., in

Game 7 of their first-round series.

Te uvo Te ravainen also scored

for t he Hurricanes, w ho finally put

away a Boston team that had

swept them in the 2019 Eastern

Conference finals and taken a five-

game first-round series in the

2020 Toronto bubble.

Jake DeBrusk had a second-pe-

riod goal for the B ruins, and David

Pastrnak scored with 21.7 seconds

left with goalie Jeremy Swayman

having been pulled.

From there, the Hurricanes had

to hang on through one last clock-

killing shift before celebrating.

past five postseasons after also

losing, 4-3, in Game 6 on the road

Thursday. Jack Campbell stopped

23 shots.

The Maple Leafs again were

unable t o push through and finally

flip a long, ugly n arrative of playoff

failures for a franchise that has

now lost its past seven postseason

series.

To ronto is now 7-3 all-time at

home in Game 7s, including a loss

at Scotiabank Arena last season

after it blew a 3-1 series lead

against the Montreal Canadiens.

Down 1-0 after 20 minutes Sat-

urday, the Maple Leafs appeared

to tie the score at 11:28 of the

second when John Tavares roofed

a shot on Vasilevskiy, but the goal

was waved off after Toronto de-

fenseman Justin Holl was whis-

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Nick Paul scored twice, includ-
ing an incredible individual effort
on the tiebreaking goal late in the
second period, and the visiting
Ta mpa Bay Lightning beat the To -
ronto Maple Leafs, 2-1, in Game 7
on Saturday night to win their
first-round playoff series.
Andrei Vasilevskiy had 29 saves
for the two-time defending Stan-
ley Cup champions.
Morgan R ielly scored for Toron-
to, which hasn’t reached the sec-
ond round since 2004 and is now
0-9 in elimination games over the

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS ROUNDUP

Paul helps Tampa Bay

send Toronto packing

LIGHTNING 2,

MAPLE LEAFS 1

derwhelming playoff efforts in

recent years, noting opponents

“had their way” with the Capi-

tals. Oshie said Washington’s

“all-in aspect” was not quite

there in the past. This year,

something felt different, but

Washington still couldn’t ad-

vance.

“We were extremely close to

being 100 percent everyone on

board, and we let three games

get away from us,” Oshie said.

“In the playoffs, the margin of

error is so small. One bad

bounce or one misread can

change the whole momentum of

a game.”

riddled with individual mis-

takes, echoed Ovechkin’s

thoughts, noting that Washing-

ton was better at closing out

games in the regular season.

When it mattered most in the

postseason, the Capitals came

up short.

“You have to shut down

teams,” Backstrom said. “I don’t

know what else to say. It’s obvi-

ously on us. It’s disappointing.”

Washington has yet to win a

postseason series since its Stan-

ley Cup win in 2018, a startling

statistic that Ovechkin called

“kind of a f---ed-up situation.”

Oshie acknowledged the un-

characteristic mistakes.

The Panthers trailed the Capi-

tals twice in Game 6 on Friday

night. Both times, Washington

let its lead slip away.

“We all understand when we

get the lead, we don’t have to

give them empty spots, give

them the chance,” captain Alex

Ovechkin said. “Especially when

they put the puck deep, we have

to play much harder in the

[defensive zone]. Again, mis-

takes from everybody.... It’s us.

All 20 guys who are out there

have to be more responsible.”

Defenseman John Carlson,

who had a lackluster postseason

If Washington had taken

Game 4, would momentum have

shifted? Would the Capitals’ sea-

son still be alive? Those were

questions Capitals Coach Peter

Laviolette wouldn’t dwell on.

“You can’t live in that world,”

Laviolette said. “You’ve got to

close the door.”

The Capitals had a shot t o take

Game 5, too. Washington com-

manded the first 30 minutes on

the road, jumping out to a 3-0

lead.

But then the Capitals crum-

bled again. The Panthers scored

five straight en route to a victory,

capitalizing on the visitors’ un-

game was in our hands. That
comes down to us just finding a
way to get the job done.”
Washington’s Game 4 over-
time loss — in which forward
Garnet Hathaway barely missed
what would have been a clinch-
ing empty-net goal — was partic-
ularly deflating. After the puck
missed the mark, Panthers for-
ward Sam Reinhart found the
late equalizer in regulation.
Then Carter Verhaeghe, Flori-
da’s breakout star, notched the
overtime winner to tie the series
at two wins apiece.

CAPITALS FROM D1

Missed opportunities doom Caps’ postseason run

KATHERINE FREY/THE WASHINGTON POST

Carter Verhaeghe (23) notched the Panthers’ winning goal in Game 6. The Capitals blew a one-goal lead Friday, losing their advantage for the third straight time in the series.

of 19,316 into a chaotic frenzy.

William Nylander then missed

high on a breakaway, and the Ta m-

pa Bay goaltender robbed Mat-

thews with To ronto buzzing.

But Paul scored his second of

the n ight — and s econd ever i n the

playoffs — with 3:28 remaining in

tled for interference.

Campbell had to make a couple

of desperation stops on the ensu-

ing penalty kill to set the stage for

Rielly’s equalizer off a setup from

Mitch Marner and Auston Mat-

thews to score his third of the

playoffs at 6 :35, sending the c rowd

NATHAN DENETTE/ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Maple Leafs have now lost their past seven postseason series,

failing to advance after making the playoffs for six straight years.

BY NEIL GREENBERG

We have known every NFL
team’s 2022 opponents for weeks,
but Thursday’s official schedule
release provided final details on
when each game will occur, giving
us the full picture for the season
— and perhaps some new insight
into how easy or difficult each
team’s slate will be.
This isn’t just idle speculation.
Examining a team’s strength of
schedule can help temper opti-
mism about contenders — or re-
move reasons for doubt. Just look
at Washington last season. Fans
and pundits seemed overly opti-
mistic about the 2021 campaign
throughout the offseason, but the
difficult schedule indicated there
was an above average chance the

team would finish 7-10 — the

exact record Washington had at

the end of the season. This extra

information provided by the

schedule also can help guide us in

our wagering, especially for regu-

lar season win totals and Super

Bowl futures.

To determine the strength of

each schedule, we will use subjec-

tive methods — including how

many playoff teams from last sea-

son are on the docket — and

objective methods, such as the

2022 regular season win totals

provided by oddsmakers, to get a

general idea of the strength of a

team’s opponents.

These win totals also can be

converted to an average point

spread rating to give us a numeri-

cal gauge of how strong or weak a

schedule is.

For example, a team with a

regular season win total of

10 games was generally consid-

ered to be two points per game

better than an average team. A

team with a win total of six games

was considered to be 31 / 2 points

per game worse than an average

team. Then we can use those

spreads as the inputs for the sim-

ple rating system to determine

how difficult each team’s 2022

schedule is projected to be. This is

preferable to other common

methods — especially any that

rely on wins from last season as

the sole basis for comparison —

because it adjusts for competition

rather than relying on stale win

totals before offseason changes

such as player movement and the

draft.

So what can we learn? The

biggest takeaway is how difficult

the upcoming season should be

for the reigning Super Bowl

champion Los Angeles Rams. The

Rams’ schedule includes

10 games against playoff teams

from last season, which is the

most in the NFL. And their aver-

age opponent in 2022 is expected

to be 1.5 points per game better

than an average team.

Their road schedule is especial-

ly difficult, with five of their eight

games against 2 021 playoff

teams: the San Francisco 49ers,

Arizona Cardinals, Ta mpa Bay

Buccaneers, Green Bay Packers

and Kansas City Chiefs. And four

of their first five games are

against 2021 playoff teams.

Only the Chiefs are projected to

have as strong a schedule in 2022,

playing opponents that are also

estimated to be 1.5 points per

game better than an average

team. The Chiefs have the added

quirk of beginning their schedule

with eight straight games against

teams coming off winning sea-

sons, the first team ever to face

such a challenge. Both the Chiefs

and Rams have regular season

win totals set at 10^1 / 2 — two of the

highest totals in the league —

making the under for those prop-

ositions enticing.

At the other end of the spec-

trum we have the Indianapolis

Colts, Philadelphia Eagles, New

York Giants and Cleveland

Browns. They are facing sched-

ules in which the average oppo-

nent is projected to be a point per

game worse than the league aver-

age.

The Colts will have four total

games against two divisional foes

that aren’t expected to be very

competitive — the Jacksonville

Jaguars and Houston Te xans —

plus four more games against the

NFC East, where two and perhaps

three teams are expected to finish

with eight or fewer wins. That

might imply some value in the

Colts’ 12-1 odds to win the AFC

title and 22-1 odds to win the

Super Bowl.

The Eagles and Giants, of

course, also will play each NFC

East opponent twice. New York in

particular could surprise. The Gi-

ants have a relatively easy sched-

ule, and oddsmakers have given

them a modest regular season

win total at seven games.

The Giants won’t contend for

any conference championships,

but an 8-9 season certainly isn’t

out of the realm of possibility,

especially if you can find the over-

seven wins at minus- 110 pricing.

Finally, the Browns could be

helped by a lot of home cooking

during the first half of the season,

with five of their first eight games

at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleve-

land, but proceed with caution

despite the schedule’s apparent

benefits. The first phase of their

season lasts four weeks and ap-

pears manageable: They open

against the Carolina Panthers,

then play the New York Jets, Pitts-

burgh Steelers and Atlanta Fal-

cons.

But then comes a brutal seven-

game stretch with games against

the Los Angeles Chargers, New

England Patriots, Baltimore Ra-

vens, Cincinnati Bengals, Miami

Dolphins, Buffalo Bills and Buc-

caneers.

Cleveland will then finish the

season against Houston, Cincin-

nati, Baltimore, the New Orleans

Saints, Washington and Pitts-

burgh.

Newly acquired quarterback

Deshaun Watson, meanwhile,

could face a suspension of unde-

termined length, making it risky

to wager heavily on the Browns

season.

ANALYSIS

Rams face one of the NFL’s most brutal schedules in 2022

Reigning champs have

10 games against teams

that made the playoffs

ASSOCIATED PRESS

S ebastián Muñoz will be the

“other” local guy in the final pair-

ing of the final round of the Byron

Nelson in McKinney, Te x.

It’s cool by the Colombian who

now calls the Dallas area home

and at least has shared the lead

after all three rounds.

Muñoz shot a 6-under-par 66

Saturday and was 21 under, a

stroke ahead of hometown favor-

ite Jordan Spieth, who is still s eek-

ing a breakthrough at the event in

which he contended in the final

round as a 16-year-old high-

schooler in 2010. Spieth shot a 64

on Saturday.

Joaquin Niemann will be the

third player in the final group

Sunday, alone in third another

shot back after a 65.

James Hahn almost matched

Muñoz’s opening-round 60 at T PC

Craig Ranch, s hooting a 61 t o jump

34 spots to a tie for fourth with

Justin T homas (64).

Spieth is a year younger than

Muñoz at 28 but has three majors

among 13 career victories after

starring at Texas. Muñoz, who

played in college nearby at North

Te xas, is 2^1 / 2 years removed from

his lone PGA To ur win.

“Besides winning in B ogotá, Co-

lombia, I’ve never been the favor-

ite o f any other place,” Muñoz s aid.

“So i t’s a familiar spot. Jordan i s, of

course, the golden boy here, so

everyone’s favorite. I’m good

friends with him, so it’s g oing to be

a lot of fun tomorrow.”

l LPGA TOUR: Minjee L ee had

an eagle-birdie run on the back

nine and t ook a one-shot lead o ver

Madelene Sagstrom h eading into

the final round of the Founders

Cup in Clifton, N.J.

Lee, the tour’s leading scoring

this year, shot a 3-under 69 on a

day when Upper Montclair Coun-

try Club showed some teeth with

the w ind picking up early and rain

falling on the leaders for the final

11 holes.

The 25-year-old Australian,

who had a three-shot lead at the

halfway p oint, w as at 17-under 199

after 5 4 holes. She’s l ooking for h er

first win of the year and seventh

on the tour.

l (^) PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS:
Steve Stricker took a three-stroke
lead over Steven Alker into the
final round of the T radition in
Birmingham, Ala., birdieing the
final hole for a 6-under 66.
Playing his third straight tour-
nament after a six-month hiatus
for health reasons, Stricker was at
17-under 199 as he seeks his sec-
ond win in the past three tries in
the 50-and-over tour major at
Greystone G olf & Country Club.
Alker birdied the f inal two holes
for a 65. A two-time winner this
year already, the Charles Schwab
Cup points leader is chasing his
first major championship.
l DP WORLD TOUR: Ryan
Fox birdied the 18th hole to take a
one-shot lead into the final round
of the Soudal Open in Antwerp,
Belgium.
The New Zealander bogeyed
early i n his third r ound a t Rinkven
International to slip f urther off the
pace but rebounded with a birdie
on his next hole and reeled off five
more coming home in a 5-under

66. Fox w as a t 11 under overall, one
    shot ahead of Sam Horsfield, the
    co-leader in the first two rounds.

GOLF ROUNDUP

Muñoz still

is in front,

with Spieth

a shot back