While fans wait for an official update on Thompson, the NHL made an announcement regarding the Capitals-Canadiens playoff series on Saturday.

If the answer is “no,” that’s OK. Montreal nearly backed its way into the playoffs and the Washington Capitals hit a rough patch of their own. Still, this matchup brings a whole bunch of juice — the most prolific goal scorer of all time, the East’s top team and the return of postseason hockey to one of the sport’s true epicenters.

Playoff hockey is here and for the fifth time in franchise history, the Washington Capitals have finished first in the Eastern Conference.