Washington Capitals: Game 7 Woes
Looking at the numbers, the Washington Capitals have reasons to dread playing Game 7 tomorrow night against the New York Islanders, particularly one home ice.
According to NHL.com, “Washington is 3-9 in Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including 2-7 at home. Since 2008, they are 1-4 on home ice.”
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Their most recent demise in Game 7 came at the hands of the New York Rangers in 2013 when New York defeated the Capitals 5-0.
But in the playoffs, sometimes we have to throw the numbers away. So many people put emphasis on statistics, and I get it; they mean something. But the Washington Capitals are not the same team they were in 2013. They are under different leadership, have Evgeny Kuznetsov and play a different system. It doesn’t matter so much what past teams have done or have failed to do.
It’s human nature to look back and compare. Going into tomorrow night’s game, people may think back to the 1987 Game 7 between the Caps and Islanders, which is the only other previous Game 7 these teams have met in. But that one game is still talked about today.
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I was only a few months old when the game took place, but I’ve heard stories. The Easter Epic it was dubbed, featured four overtime periods in which Islander great Pat Lafontaine scored the game-winning goal and sent his team into the next round. It still holds the record for being the longest Game 7 in NHL history.
Tomorrow night, hopefully, will be just as epic (but shorter). Both teams are going to be playing with emotion. The Islanders don’t want to say goodbye to their home, Nassau Coliseum, just yet. They want to end their final season at the barn by raising the Cup. They have a chance to keep that dream alive with a win.
The Washington Capitals want to show that they can win in the playoffs. Over the years, the team has struggled to get past the second round. The last time Washington was featured in the Conference Finals was in 1998. Since Alex Ovechkin came to Washington in 2005, the Capitals have made the playoffs for six consecutive seasons from 2007-13, but only were able to advance to the second round three times. The postseason hasn’t been the organization’s strong suit.
Via NHL.com:
"“Winning is hard,” Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin said. “It’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be a seventh game Monday and it’s going to be fun. I think our fans are going to give us very good confidence.”"
Ovi’s right. Winning isn’t easy—especially for the Capitals. But throw all the numbers away and you just have two teams fighting for the same dream. Tomorrow night a winner will be determined. Who that winner is depends not on the teams’ past achievements and failures, but on who shows up and puts it away.