Capitals advance to first Stanley Cup Final of Ovechkin era

They will now advance to the Stanley Cup Finals to face the Vegas Golden Knights, with Game 1 taking place in Sin City on Monday.

But the way in which the series between Tampa Bay and the Capitals has played out to date, determining the outcome of Game 7 might prove to be a futile effort.

For the second time in three years, the Tampa Bay Lightning failed to reach the Stanley Cup final. “We just want to be here, want to come back here to Game 7 and win the game“. “There are so many good emotions about coaching this team. but the emotions of how it ended is tough”. The Capitals are 3-7 in Game 7s since 2008; the Bruins are 5-5, the Rangers are 6-2 and the Penguins are 5-3.

Game 7 has historically not be kind to the Capitals, who are 4-11 all-time in the winner-take-all match up, including 3-7 in the Alex Ovechkin Era.

So when the Capitals fell behind 0-2 to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round, it was surprising, but not too surprising. However, team captain Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals have proven everyone wrong. “They wanted this game, no question”. All three game 7’s were on the road.

“What a game. What an experience”. Tampa Bay is six-for-17 on the man advantage, accounting for more than half of its goals in this series. The Capitals had a 3-2 lead going into the third period, but Riley Smith would score his second goal of the game to tie it and Alex Tuch would score the game victor with 5:12 left in the game.

The first game on December 23, Washington would make a trip to Las Vegas and get shut out 3-0.

Andre Burakovsky found the net twice in a 4-0 win as Washington took the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final 4-3.

Sensing the players might be feeling the pressure of a do-or-die game, Washington head coach Barry Trotz elicited more than a few laughs when Ovechkin asked him to perform the “hot lap” – a morning-skate tradition of sprinting around the ice by yourself – on Wednesday.

The Capitals are a four-line machine this postseason when it comes to playing an exceptional 200ft game, another resemblance to the Penguins in the spring of 2016.

Yet for all the Lightning accomplished – a franchise-record for wins and points – they went out with a whimper. “He basically turned the bench into a hug train, and that was late in the second period, with still the third to go”. Teams that score first in Game 7 are 127-44 (.743) all-time.

Vegas went 2-0 against the Capitals in the regular season, winning 3-0 at home on December 23 and 4-3 at Washington on February 4.

Braden Holtby had just recorded his first shutout of the season, in biggest game of his National Hockey League career, and the Washington Capitals goalie basically shrugged about it.

They come at you in droves and it’s overwhelming for the opposition.