NHL ready for playoffs

The beef and brawn reign in the West. Back East is where the kids skate and play with abandon.

Including, of course, Alex the Great, who is ready for his coming out party. That is, if he and the Washington Capitals have anything left after racing for weeks just to get into the playoffs.

No story down the stretch was more compelling than Alex Ovechkin’s brilliant play in helping the Capitals erase a dismal first half that cost a coach a job and left the club just a step above last place.

Now it’s time for his postseason debut, which will take place Friday night in the nation’s capital against the Philadelphia Flyers. Behind Ovechkin’s offense, Washington chased down the Carolina Hurricanes for the Southeast Division title with an 11-1 finish.

“You don’t want to think too much about it,” Flyers goalie Martin Biron said of the 22-year-old Ovechkin, who led the NHL with 65 goals and 112 points. “There’s other guys on that team that definitely have been assets and can play the game well with Ovechkin.

“They get great energy from him, and what they accomplished at the end of the season was tremendous. It’s a big challenge. We’ll welcome the challenge.”

Pittsburgh and No. 7 Ottawa will get things started today, along with the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers in a 4 vs. 5 Eastern Conference border battle; the Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche in a 3 vs. 6 matchup in the West; and the Sharks hosting the Calgary Flames in a No. 2 against No. 7 series.