Fans at Capital One Arena saw an instant-classic Game 7. Unfortunately for their beloved Washington Capitals, the Stanley Cup title defense came to an end earlier than anybody in the DMV wanted.
The Washington Capitals fell to the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 in double overtime in Game 7, ending their season earlier than what many had anticipated.
Had there not been other upsets across the Stanley Cup playoffs in the first round this year, this upset of a team taking down the defending Stanley Cup champions would be even more staggering. What makes this not shocking is the talent the Hurricanes have in advanced numbers, however, what makes it shocking is still what was noted in the previous sentence.
Not only did the season of the defending Stanley Cup champions end prematurely, it ended at the hands of an opponent who’s last appearance in the playoffs also came the same year of the first-ever playoff meeting between Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby.
In the first six games, the trend was home ice advantage. Whether the game was in Raleigh or Washington, those sets of fanbases went home happy. The Capitals won the first two meetings at home before dropping the next two in Carolina. When the series came back to D.C. for Game 5, the Capitals won to put the Hurricanes on the brink before the Hurricanes held serve at home to even the series.
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That set up a game where anything could possibly happen. It truly didn’t matter in the end that the home team won every game the first six times.
It also didn’t matter what happened in past games. And in the end that can cause nerves for anybody, whether you’re a seasoned Cup-winning experienced team or one with a bunch of young bucks wide-eyed excited for their first taste of playoff action.
The Washington Capitals at first looked up for the challenge and rode the energy of the home crowd in the first 20 minutes. They scored two goals in the opening period.
First it was Andre Burakovsky at 2:13 when he picked the pockets of Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce near the boards and took the puck straight toward the net to snipe one home. Burakovsky’s first goal of the playoffs couldn’t have come at a better time.
Then the Russian connection of Dmitry Orlov to Ovechkin worked to perfection with the former making a perfect long-range pass to the other. The passing got more perfect from there. Ovechkin used a curl-and-drag to fake out Dougie Hamilton and fed a quick pass to Tom Wilson for his third goal of the playoffs. 2-0 would be Washington’s lead after the first 20 minutes but everyone knows that a two-goal lead is the most dangerous lead in hockey.
Sebastian Aho got the Hurricanes on the board with a shorthanded goal before Evgeny Kuznetsov finally rose his wings and scored his first goal of the playoffs. Kuznetsov finished a give-n-go from Carl Hagelin to put the Capitals back up by two goals, 3-1. Naturally, he broke out the bird celebration.
Again, two-goal leads aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. Teuveo Teravainen scored late in the second to make it a one-goal deficit. In the third period, it didn’t take long for Game 7 to be a new game. Jordan Staal tied it at 2:56. It would remain tied the whole way through the third period, sending the game to overtime.
Shots were even in the first two periods, 10-10 and 9-9 respectively. In the third the Capitals outshot the Hurricanes 12-5. In overtime, the Hurricanes were the ones energetic while the Capitals looked sluggish. They had the first nine shots of the extra session and outshot the Capitals 11-4 in overtime. None of those 15 shots went in the net so the game needed another overtime.
Even the extra rest didn’t do the Capitals favors. It gave the Hurricanes an extra boost with more energy. Just over midway through the third, the Hurricanes had seven shots compared to the Capitals’ two but it was that seventh shot that would send the Hurricanes to second round heaven.
The puck came off the stick of Brock McGinn on a deflection and the dagger came into the Capitals’ hearts. Justin Williams, former Capital and “Mr. Game 7” had the primary assist.
Repeating is a tough thing to do but the so-called “window” isn’t closing anytime soon. The Capitals will come into training camp with a chip on their shoulder, ready to work perhaps in even better shape. The goal, as always, remains unchanged. There won’t be a back-to-back, at least not in 2019, but don’t rule out a dynasty.