#9 Game 7 vs. New York Islanders in 2015
Game 7’s aren’t the kindest to the Washington Capitals. This is one of the few nights where this wasn’t the case. Entering this game I was nervous. Pretty sure I even tweeted “ugh I hate Game 7’s” before the game. I just had a bad feeling. Game 7, at home, what could go wrong right?
To make things even more worrisome, Jaroslav Halak was starting in goal on the other side. A familiar villain that shattered Washington’s Stanley Cup dreams just five years prior.
The first period was scoreless. Late in the second period, the Caps got a huge deflection goal from Joel Ward. Just over three minutes into the third period, the Islanders tied it on a goal from Frans Nielsen.
At 12:42 it would be Evgeny Kuznetsov that would save the night and send Caps fans home happy. Kuznetsov glided toward the net with the game on his stick and confidently beat Halak.
The Caps and Islanders have had a playoff history that wasn’t kind to the Caps but on this night it would be Washington who would prevail. This was a memorable series in what was the first playoff series of the Barry Trotz era.