-- Herb Brooks in “Miracle”
Two years, two Presidents Trophies, two second-round
exits. Washington Capitals fans could be
forgiven if they thought this team was not going to go as far as the two most recent editions of the Caps when the season
started. But when the final red goal
light faded away in PPG Paints Arena, the Washington Capitals went further than
any team since 1998, when they went to the franchise’s only Stanley Cup final.
Evgeny Kuznetsov ended the 19-year streak without an eighth
playoff win for the Caps when he took a feed from Alex Ovechkin, skated between
the Pittsburgh Penguin defense, kept his focus as defenseman Kris Letang
desperately swept his stick at the puck, and slid the biscuit between goalie
Matt Murray’s pads 5:27 into the first overtime to leave the arena in utter
silence, save for the whoops of celebration as the Caps poured off the bench.
This was a throw-back game of sorts, reminiscent of the
hard-fought, zone-to-zone, closely defended games of the 1990’s and early 2000’s.
The teams combined for only 13 shots on goal in the first period without either
team rustling the twine. The Caps broke
the ice early in the second period when Nathan Walker, playing in his first
career NHL playoff game, beat Derick Brassard to the puck down the left wing
wall, skated in around the back of the Penguin net, and fed Alex Chiasson in
the right wing circle for a one-timer that snuck between Murray’s left arm and
the near post at the 2:13 mark of the period.
Pittsburgh tied it almost ten minutes later when Sidney
Crosby beat Lars Eller cleanly on a faceoff from the right wing circle, Brian
Dumoulin collecting the puck and feeding Letang for a one-timer 11:52 into the
period.
And that was all the scoring in regulation. The Caps dominated the extra session,
recording five shots on goal to two for the Penguins before the final scoring sequence. And when the Caps stood tall at their own
blue line to disrupt a Penguin entry into the offensive zone, when Ovechkin
collected a loose puck at his own blue line and fed it up to Kuznetsov, and
when Kuznetsov calmly, deliberately, deftly slipped the puck between Murray’s
pads, it was off to the third round for the Capitals and an end to the Penguin
hopes for a third consecutive Stanley Cup.
Other stuff…
-- The Caps were missing three top-six forwards (Andre
Burakovsky, Tom Wilson, and Nicklas Backstrom), forced to rely on Alex
Chiasson, Travis Boyd, and Nathan Walker to skate limited, but important
minutes. Only Boyd finished with more
than ten minutes of ice time (12:12), but the trio did combine for four shots
on goal, six shot attempts, were a combined plus-2, had four hits, and won a
combined seven of 11 draws.
-- Posts figured for each team. T.J. Oshie hit the post in the first period
for the Caps, and Tom Kuhnackl found iron for the Pens in the overtime.
-- This is the first 2-1 overtime win for the Caps in
Pittsburgh in team history. It is the 11th
time that the Caps went to overtime in Steel City in the postseason, the Caps
now with a 4-7 record in such games.
-- For Boyd and Walker, it was for each their first career
NHL postseason game, and Walker’s assist was the first for an Australian player
in league history.
-- The Caps had two penalty minutes in this contest. It is the seventh time in team history that
the Caps had two or fewer penalty minutes in a game. They now have a record of 6-1 in those
games. The only team they lost two…
Pittsburgh, 3-1, in 1992. It is the Caps
sixth straight win in such situations.
-- Matt Niskanen skate almost 30 minutes (29:38), and while
he did not have a point, he had a shot on goal, four shot attempts, three hits,
and a blocked shot.
-- Alex Ovechkin brought the intensity. He did not have a goal, but he had the
primary assist on the series-clinching goal, five shots on goal, 11 shot
attempts, seven hits, and a takeaway.
-- John Druce, Brian Bellows, Joe Juneau, Marcus Johansson,
Dale Hunter, Joel Ward… and now, Evgeny Kuznetsov. Players in Caps history to clinch a series
with a game-winning goal in overtime.
-- The Caps finished with a shots advantage of 30-22 and a
shot attempts advantage of 62-52, two areas with which they struggled against
this team in the past.
-- This was the 11th time in his career that
Braden Holtby played a full game and faced 22 or fewer shots (he faced 22
tonight). He lifted his record in those
11 games to 7-4.
In the end…
The last two seasons, the Caps had better teams on paper
than the once they iced to start this series against the Penguins. By the time Game 6 came around, the Caps were
short three top-six forwards, and both Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin
suffered injuries (albeit not of a debilitating nature, of course) during this
game. Braden Holtby, who had magical
seasons in the two seasons coming into this one, struggled down the stretch and
was benched in favor of Philipp Grubauer to start the postseason. The defense, even when at full strength, had
holes. Barry Trotz had his own coaching
demons, not having reached a third round as an NHL head coach.
But this team, perhaps more than any other in franchise
history, including the Stanley Cup run, persevered, put the rough spots behind
them, and fought through adversity against a team that has done more to
disappoint Capitals Nation than any team in the last 30 years.
Sometimes, it isn’t having the best players, but having the right
ones, as Herb Brooks put it in the movie, “Miracle.” In this series, and in this game, the Caps
had the right players indeed.
Photo: Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images
Photo: Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images
