Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby meet for the traditional post-series handshake (Lets hope this is one of many to come)
(Photo Credit: AP)
by Chris Carrano
Game 7. Those two words can either inspire a team to soar to great heights, or instill enough fear to tuck their tales between their legs. One and done. Leave it all out there. Winner take all. It is one of the most exciting events in all of sports. Unless you’re a Washington Capital fan, Game 7’s are a dreadful experience. In a series that featured six classic games, five one-goal wins, three NHL superstars and two overtimes, one would think that this Game 7 had all the makings of an instant classic. Instead the Pittsburgh Penguins came into our nation’s capital and steamrolled the Washington Capitals, leaving with a 6-2 victory, and a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Pittsburgh took a commanding 4-0 lead after just twenty-two minutes of hockey. Sidney Crosby started the scoring fest at 12:36 with a tap-in goal after Washington goalie Simeon Varlamov initially saved, but failed to cover Sergei Gonchar’s laser blast from the center of the blue line. It didn’t take long for Gonchar, who was injured after a knee-to-knee collision with Alexander Ovechkin in Game 4, to make his presence felt. Eight seconds later, before the PA announcer ever managed to announce the first goal, Craig Adams took a pass from Maxime Talbot and beat Capitals defenseman John Erskine one on one to put the Penguins up 2-0 for a lead they would never relinquish.
Bill Guerin and Kris Letang scored twice in a one minute and forty-five second span to force Washington coach Bruce Boudreau to pull Varlamov in favor of veteran Jose Theodore, who Varlamov replaced in Game 2 of the first round. Guerin ripped a blast from 45 feet away just 28 seconds into the period and Letang’s shot went in short side high at 2:13. “After the third goal . . . he looked really dejected," Washington Coach Brice Boudreau said. "And then after the fourth goal, I think the wind completely came out of his sails emotionally. He's done so much. . . . It just poured out of him. I wish I had maybe [made a change] one goal sooner."
Ovechkin put Washington on the board at 18:09 after Penguins goalie Marc Andre Fleury left his net to play the puck behind him. Ovechkin was right on his tail and when Fleury tried to play the puck along the boards, Ovechkin intercepted and scored into the empty net. There was no lavish celebrating for Ovechkin however, as his team was out of the game at that point.
Twenty-six seconds in to the final period, Washington defenseman Brooks Laich received a double minor for slashing Sidney Crosby. During the penalty kill, Ovechkin skated with the puck into the offensive zone and turned it over to Crosby as he was trying to generate a short-handed scoring chance. Crosby broke away and took the puck down the ice and easily beat Theodore for his second goal of the game and his twelfth of the playoffs. Brooks Laich also scored in garbage time to cut the Penguins lead to 6-2.
Early on in the game, Marc Andre Fleury made a spectacular save against Alexander Ovechkin. It came when Ovechkin had a breakaway chance, and Fleury stretched upward to glove it, much to the dismay of the Washington crowd. Had that gone in, Washington would have an early 1-0 lead and could’ve changed the whole dynamic of the game. That save, Crosby said, sent a message to the entire Pittsburgh team. "You dodge a bullet and it allows you to calm down a little bit," Crosby said. "Marc did an awesome job. He stood tall and was huge for us."
Instead of rocking the red tonight, it was the red that got rocked. Washington could not exorcise their playoff demons and their post-season woes against the Pittsburgh Penguins continue. The Washington fans gave their Capitals a rousing ovation as the final seconds ticked away on a very disappointing end to their season. "It was definitely anticlimactic," Boudreau said of Game 7. "It certainly wasn't the way I would have envisioned it. Whether we won or lost, I never would have thought that we would have ended up in a game like it was tonight."
Said Washington forward Tomas Fleischmann, "When it was 4-0, I just felt like I wanted to put a towel over my head and leave. We were just shocked at what happened."
With this victory, the Penguins march on to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second consecutive season. They await either the Boston Bruins or Carolina Hurricanes, who play a decisive Game 7 tomorrow night in Boston. Pittsburgh, who back in February fired coach Michel Therrien in favor of Dan Bylsma, did not look like a playoff bound team for a good portion of the season, but they turned that around down the stretch. Now, the Penguins will either travel to Boston or return home to play Carolina to open up the conference finals.
Hard Hits…With all the hype surrounding this series, no one expected to see a Game 7 like that yesterday. It was the Pittsburgh Penguins skating against actual penguins from the National Zoo. The Capitals looked deflated and after those two goals in eight seconds, they lost their will to fight. They had only five shots in the first period compared to the Penguins 16. Simeon Varlamov, who with the exception of last night, has been outstanding in the playoffs, but he cannot be the only player on the ice. What happened to Ovechkin? What happened to Semin, Federov and Green? If Sidney Crosby and Ovechkin cancel each other out, then what you’re left with is the rest of your team, and the Penguins got the goals and the big plays from the rest of their team…Washington has now dropped to 2-6 in Game 7’s…This is also the third time that Washington has lost a playoff series to Pittsburgh after leading two games to none…The two goals in eight seconds scored by Pittsburgh was the fastest ever for a Game 7…The Penguins outscored the Capitals 27-21 in this series and outshot them 256-180.
Title Fight: Crosby vs. Ovechkin
Round 7
Crosby- 2 Goals, 1 Assist, +1, 3 Shots on Goal, 0 Hits, 18:59 Time on Ice
Ovechkin- 1 Goals, 0 Assists, -1, 3 Shots on Goal, 5 Hits, 22:29 Time on Ice
Result: In the final round it was all Sidney Crosby as he led his Penguins to victory by scoring his team’s first and last goal. This round didn’t go the full three minutes as Crosby landed the TKO punch when he stole the puck from Ovechkin and scored an easy breakaway goal. Although the fight was even through all seven rounds, Crosby comes out on top.
Final Fight- Crosby 8G, 5A, 13pts, Ovechkin 8G, 6A, 14pts.
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