When it comes to Game 7s, more often than not, both teams give it everything they’ve got and leave it on the field, court or ice.
In tonight’s Game 7 between the New York Rangers and the Washington Capitals at the Verizon Center, only one team did both of those. Unfortunately for the fans at the Verizon Center, it was not their Capitals.
After being down 3-2 in the series, the Rangers came out and won two straight games, including Monday’s 5-0 Game 7 victory. The Rangers played hard, finished every check and, of course, won where it mattered most, on the scoreboard.
Let’s take a look at why the Rangers were able to win this game and why the Capitals lost the most crucial game of the year.
Why the Rangers won
For starters, the Rangers once again got the goaltending they needed from Henrik Lundqvist. Lundqvist was the team’s best player in the series and proved that once again tonight by making 35 saves for his second straight shutout of the series.
In the last two games, Lundqvist stopped all 62 shots he faced and gave his team confidence to play the way they needed to in order to win. With Monday’s win, Lundqvist is now 3-1 in Game 7s in his career.
Secondly, the Rangers were able to get scoring from players other than their stars. While the likes of Brad Richards and Rick Nash were not able to put the puck in the net Monday, the team was able to get goals from gritty and unlikely players.
Arron Asham, Taylor Pyatt, defenceman Michael Del Zotto and Mats Zuccarello all scored goals in a win-or-go-home situation. These players may not have scored a lot of goals in the regular season but they were able to come through in the team’s most important game to date.
Speaking of coming through, the Rangers got a terrific performance in this series and in Game 7 from forward Derrick Brassard. Brassard finished as the series’ leading scorer with two goals and seven assists and showed that while he may not have the finish of a Richards or Nash, he can produce when they are not.
The Rangers’ defence also has to be given a lot of credit. In these last two games, the likes of Dan Girardi, Ryan McDonagh, Del Zotto, Steve Eminger, John Moore and Anton Stralman were able to shut down and minimize highly offensive players on the Capitals including Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Ribeiro, Troy Brouwer and Mike Green.
Why the Capitals lost
The Capitals may have been the third seed in the Eastern Conference and finished as one of the hottest teams in the NHL, but through parts of this series it was all missing for the Capitals.
Speaking of missing, Ovechkin was nowhere to be found on the score sheet after Game 2. Monday he had no room to create any quality scoring chances, could not find the open lanes to get into scoring position and looked like the Ovechkin that was struggling at the beginning of the season.
Unfortunately for the Capitals, Ovechkin was not the only player who struggled offensively when the team needed it the most. Niklas Backstrom, Mike Ribeiro, Mike Green, Troy Brouwer, Mathieu Perreault and Marcus Johannson were not able to step up in Ovechkin’s place.
The Capitals’ goaltending may not have been a problem in the first six games of this series but it was a problem in Game 7. The Capitals 23-year-old netminder Braden Holtby looked like he was fighting the puck and was awkward between the pipes on two of the Rangers’ goals.
There also seemed to be a lack of energy from the Capitals. The team usually feeds off the home crowd but they were late to pucks, got caught out of position and once the game got to 3-0, did not seem to want to play anymore. In the end, it showed up on the scoreboard when the game and the series ended.
