WE’RE GOIN’ TO VEGAS, BABY!
Washington’s first Cup final since 1998, first in Ovechkin’s 13-year career
Andre Burakovsky, centre, celebrates one of his two goals in Washington’s 4-0 win over Tampa Bay on Wednesday night in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final. The Capitals will face the Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup final, beginning Monday night in Las Vegas.
ST. PETERSBURG, FLA.— Alex Ovechkin scored early and Andre Burakovsky added two second-period goals to help the Washington Capitals put a decade of playoff frustration behind them with a 4-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final Wednesday night.
Braden Holtby stopped 29 shots for his second straight shutout and the Lightning, who led the NHL in goals during the regular season, failed to score in the last 159 minutes, 27 seconds — a stretch of nearly eight periods.
Ovechkin, who had never played a team that advanced beyond the second round, scored 1:02 into the winner-take-all showdown he had described as probably the “biggest game in my life.”
Nicklas Backstrom had an empty-netter to complete the rout.
To earn a spot in the Stanley Cup Final, where they’ll play the Vegas Golden Knights, the Capitals beat the top-seeded Lightning three times on the road, improving to 8-2 away from home this post-season.
It’s Washington’s first Cup final appearance since 1998, and the first during Ovechkin’s 13- year career.
Two games after being a healthy scratch for Game 5, Burakovsky became the 17th play- er to score a goal for Washington in the playoffs this year — four shy of the NHL record — when he beat Andrei Vasilevskiy on a breakaway at 8:59 of the second period.
The winger, who played two games in the first round against Columbus before sitting out 10 straight with an upper-body injury, added a breakaway goal to make it 3-0 heading into the last period.
Tampa Bay, which rebounded from losing the first two games at home to win straight three straight for a 3-2 series lead, had plenty of chances. A couple of shots clanged off the post, Yanni Gourde was unable to get his stick on a loose puck in front on an empty net and the game gradually slipped away.
It was the 33rd time in league history that a Game 7 was required to determine a Stanley Cup finalist. Home teams are 21-12 in those games.
The Lightning had never lost a Game 7 at home before Wednesday night.