If the New York Rangers have stolen the Washington Capitals’ momentum, storming back from a 3-1 series deficit to force a Game 7, Alex Ovechkin believes it’s only temporary.
“We’re going to come back and win the series,” Ovechkin told reporters after Sunday’s 4-3 home loss. “We’re gonna play our game, and we’re gonna come back and we’re gonna play Montreal or Tampa.”
Despite opening Washington’s scoring this series by firing a laser wrist shot past Henrik Lundqvist in Game 1 on the power play, the NHL’s most frequent sniper has failed to score in four games. And Washington’s power play is enduring an 0-for-10 drought.
“We have to play better. We have chances, but we have to make one or two steps,” Ovechkin said. “It starts with myself. I have to create more opportunities in front of the net, use the body and try to get the shot through.”
With the Rangers seizing a three-goal lead in the third period Sunday, the Capitals persisted, scoring twice in response and out-shooting the visitors 45-28.
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“We almost tied the game and the character of this group, it shows a lot,” Ovechkin said. “At 4-1 we didn’t stop playing.”
If Ovie’s Game 7 guarantee is to ring true, however, two trends must be bucked Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
Four times Washington has let a 3-1 series stranglehold slip to a seventh game — and the franchise has lost all four.
Further, Lundqvist’s Rangers have won nine straight at home when facing elimination.
“As soon as we put the puck deep, hit their ‘D’, they afraid because we big, we strong and you can see how we score goals. We just put bodies in front of Lundqvist and it goes in,” Ovechkin said.
So the key to Game 7?
“Play our best. Do everything,” Ovechkin said. “And we’re going to do it.”
