INTERVIEW – SCOTT ALLEN – Washington Post sports reporter – previewed big Caps games and Nats games this weekend.

• Eastern Conference Final preview: Why the Lightning will end the Capitals’ playoff run (ESPN)
• Lightning vs. Capitals: Washington is making its first conference finals appearance since 1998 after finally vanquishing the rival Penguins in the second round. Tampa, meanwhile, is a Stanley Cup semifinalist for a third time in four years and the heavy favorite advance after facing very little turbulence so far in the postseason.
• Nationals outlast Diamondbacks, win 2-1 in extras in series opener in Arizona. Matt Adams came up with a big RBI single (off a left-handed reliever) in the top of the eleventh inning and the Nationals took the series opener from the Diamondbacks, 2-1.