HERO RADAR
A look at seven players that could step up in Game 7
TAMPA — Heroes come in all shapes and sizes and skill levels in the playoffs.
On some nights, it’s the superstar captain who led the league in scoring. On others, it’s the fourth-line veteran who hasn’t scored in a month. With a chance at advancing to the Stanley Cup final, here are seven players who could come up big in Game 7.
CHRIS KUNITZ
The 38-year-old is still searching for his first goal of the playoffs — he last scored on April 3 — but don’t be surprised if Kunitz breaks out of his slump on Wednesday. A year ago, he was in the exact same position he is now when the Pittsburgh Penguins played the Ottawa Senators in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final. Heading into that game, he had also gone without scoring in the playoffs. But he played the unlikely hero with two goals an assist in the 3-2 win, which included scoring the series winner in double overtime.
ALEX OVECHKIN
This is the 11th Game 7 for the Washington captain and it’s easily the biggest of his career. Though Ovechkin has already gone further than he has ever been in the postseason, the ultimate goal is winning the Stanley Cup. In order to do that, he will need to continue to play the way he’s done in the playoffs. Ovechkin has 11 goals and 21 points, but in Game 6 it was his physical play that set the tone and inspired his team to victory. As Ovechkin goes, so do the Capitals. And with three goals and six points against the Lightning, he’s been pretty much unstoppable.
STEVEN STAMKOS
The Lightning captain has four goals and two assists against the Capitals, but so far all of his points have been on the power play. That’s not necessarily a bad thing with the amount of penalties that were called earlier in the series. But with the refs putting away their whistles — Tampa Bay had 12 power plays in the first three games and only five in the next three — Stamkos will have to find a way to produce at 5-on-5. For starters, getting more than just the one shot on net he had in Game 6 would help.
BRADEN HOLTBY
It seems forever ago that Holtby was struggling so much that Washington actually chose Phillip Grubauer to start the first two games of the playoffs. Since then, he has been a rock back there for the Capitals, having given up more than three goals only once in 17 games. Facing elimination in Game 6 against Tampa Bay, Holtby stopped all 24 shots he faced for his first shutout of the season. With the way Vasilevskiy is playing at the other end, he’ll need a similar performance in Game 7.
ANDREI VASILEVSKIY
Let’s be honest: Without Vasilevskiy standing on his head, the Lightning’s season would be over by now. The Lightning goalie, who was a Vezina Trophy finalist in the regular season, has been the team’s MVP in the conference final, having allowed just two goals in each of the last four games. The last — and only — time he was in a Game 7 situation, he stopped 37 of 39 shots in a 2-1 loss to Pittsburgh in the 2016 conference final. If he can do the same on Wednesday, no one would complain.
T.J. OSHIE
An incredibly streaky scorer, there was a fourmonth stretch during the regular season when Oshie had two goals in 42 games. Since snapping out of the slump in mid-March, he’s scored seven goals and 15 points in the playoffs. As the saying goes, timing really is everything. Oshie ended another six-game mini-drought in Game 6, when he scored twice, including the winner. If history is any indication, it could be the start of another streak.
ALEX KILLORN
Killorn scored 15 goals and 47 points in the regular season, but like previous years his true value is felt in the playoffs where he has a reputation for being clutch. During Tampa Bay’s run to the Cup final in 2015, he scored nine goals and 18 points in 26 games, where he scored the game-winner in Game 7 of the conference final against the New York Rangers. He has five goals in this year’s playoffs. And while he’s been sort of quiet against Washington, he did score the winner late in Game 4.