The NHL’s best and worst this week: Inside John Carlson’s hot start

David Pastrnak explains why his time with Zdeno Chara in the handshake line at the end of the Bruins-Capitals first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series was “emotional.”

Center Antoine Vermette was one of the best faceoff specialists of his generation.

Playoff hockey is a constant reminder of how quickly momentum can change. On April 20, our model’s record was perfect: The Penguins clinched their series in five games and the Ducks and Predators had won in sweeps. Not only were we one of the very few to pick the Preds over the mighty Blackhawks, but our seemingly insane prediction that the Maple Leafs would take the series over the Presidents’ Trophy winning Capitals in a “coinflip” series seemed to have legs, with the series tied at two (including three games going to overtime and the teams’ stats lines standing virtually identical.