Capitals extend Bolts to Game 7
T.J. Oshie and Devante Smith-Pelly scored, Braden Holtby stopped all 24 shots he faced and the Capitals beat up the Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-0, last night in Washington to force a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference finals.
Alex Ovechkin, Tom Wilson and Brooks Orpik led the charge, throwing their bodies around all night. Tampa Bay got 31 saves from Andrei Vasilevskiy in another impressive showing but had no answer for Washington’s hit-everything-that-moves approach while facing elimination at home.
Game 7 is tomorrow night at Tampa Bay. The winner faces the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup finals.
The Capitals outhit the Lightning 39-19 and outshot them 34-24, bruising and battering the Bolts all over the ice. Orpik separated Cedric Paquette from the puck twice on one shift, Ovechkin leveled rookie Yanni Gourde and Wilson was his usual self, dishing out a handful of crushing body checks.
With a physical tone set, the Capitals kept testing Vasilevskiy and eventually cracked him. There wasn’t much he could do on Oshie’s second-period power-play goal from the slot after a deft pass from Nicklas Backstrom gave Vasilevskiy little time to adjust for the one-timer.
Drawing a penalty made all the difference for Washington, which hadn’t had a power play since the second period of Game 4. Lightning defenseman Braydon Coburn hooked Smith-Pelly to give the Caps that opportunity, and their penalty kill kept Tampa Bay’s power play off the board for just the second time in the series.
With the Lightning pressing and Holtby shining under pressure, the Capitals had chances to go the other way. SmithPelly scored the second goal midway through the third, beating Vasilevskiy after fellow fourth-liners Chandler Stephenson and Jay Beagle did the work on the forecheck to set it up.
As strong as Vasilevskiy was, the physical game took a toll on the Lightning, who couldn’t muster a comeback. Oshie iced it with an empty-netter in the final minute.
The Capitals improved to 10-2 in the Ovechkin/ Backstrom era when facing elimination any time before Game 7.
They’re 3-7 in Game 7 over that time.
Elsewhere in the NHL — Veteran executive Lou Lamoriello, 75, is coming to the New York Islanders, according to a source. It’s not clear what Lamoriello’s title will be, but it’s expected he will be in charge. It was also uncertain how his hiring would affect current president and general manager Garth Snow, who has four years remaining on his contract . . . .
Paul Fenton was hired as general manager of the Minnesota Wild after 20 years in the front office of the Nashville Predators. Fenton, 58, skated at Boston University and had an eight-year NHL career.