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Five Years Ago Today…Round 3, Game 7

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As unbelievable as it may seem, we are fast approaching the five-year anniversary of the Capitals’ Stanley Cup win. To celebrate, over the next two months we’re going to be taking you on a journey back in time to that magical run – reliving every game, five years to the day from when it was first played.

So strap in for the ups and downs, highs and lows, all leading up to a celebration of the greatest moment in franchise history.

Follow along with all of our “Five Years Ago Today…” recaps here.

The Series:

Eastern Conference Round 3 – Capitals (1) vs. Lightning (1); Series tied 3-3

The Setting:

May 23, 2018 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida

Game in a Nutshell:

After an incredible team effort and some net heroics by Braden Holtby, the Caps had reduced the best-of-7 series to a winner-take-all Game 7 in Tampa. Win this game, and the team would return to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 20 years – and just the second time in franchise history. All eyes were on Tampa for this pivotal game.

But first, how about we go for a little hot lap with the coach?

Everyone sufficiently pumped? Cool. Let’s do this.

In Game 7, every little bit matters, including the tone that’s set right from the start – and as the road team, the Caps were going to want to take the Tampa crowd out as early as possible. So they did.

Roughly a minute into the first period, Tom Wilson knocked Chris Kunitz to the ice, forcing a turnover at center. He then carried the puck in over the blue line and dropped it back to Evgeny Kuznetsov, who sent it across to Alex Ovechkin…who did what Alex Ovechkin does best.

This play, by the way? This is what makes Tom Wilson special:

So that goal gave the Caps the lead – but if Game 6 was a tremendous team effort, with all parties chipping in equally for a dominant win over the Lightning, Game 7 was all about Braden Holtby. Which isn’t to say the team in front of him wasn’t very good again in their own right (because they absolutely were); just that they needed him to come up big much more often. And he did. Time and time again. Just look at the heat map from the first period (via NaturalStatTrick):

Offense (or lack thereof) aside, there was a weird moment with about five minutes left in the first period, when Evgeny Kuznetsov gets into a scuffle in front of the Tampa net and is surrounded by a bevy of Bolts. One of those Bolts is Braydon Coburn, who inexplicably rips Kuznetsov’s jersey off of him and then tosses it aside in what can only be described as a dick move…which causes Tom Wilson to absolutely melt down.

(Also it’s possible Coburn said something to Tom to set him off, because you’d like to think he wouldn’t flip out over a simple jersey toss…but who knows.)

Wilson and Coburn both sit for two minutes, and then emerge from the penalty box a-swingin’.

…this, btw? This is the part of Wilson that is both fun and horrible. Because sure, defend your man, but also read the room and the moment, Tom.

Not sure a Coburn-for-Wilson swap is what any of us would want, especially not for seven minutes in a one-goal Game 7, but sure. Why not. Hockey!

Back to the action. The Caps headed into the second period still clinging to that 1-0 lead, thanks almost entirely to one man: Braden Holtby.

But shutouts are hard to get, especially a game after posting a shutout – so it was probably a good time for someone. Anyone. To step up and score another goal, to give the team (and their beleaguered goalie) some breathing room.

Enter Andre Burakovsky. The hero we all needed.

Heading into this game, Andre Burakovsky had played in just seven of the 18 games the Caps had played to this point, sitting out Games 2-6 of the first round and all of the second round with an injury and then sitting out as a healthy scratch for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final. He was still waiting on his first point of the postseason, too…until this moment:

Just your typical dumped-in puck off a defenseman’s body that somehow ends up on the stick of a guy who, despite his lack of points thus far, has got Moves. Exactly how they drew it up.

And the crowd (at home) goes wild!

But this was the 2018 Washington Capitals, and redemption was something they took very seriously. So Andre Burakovsky wasn’t going to be satisfied with just one important goal in a crucial Game 7. No, he was going to go out there, get another damn breakaway, and score AGAIN.

So yeah, this happened on the ice:

And then this happened on the bench:

Because the Caps were up 3-0.

On to the third, where the Caps now had sufficient breathing room on the scoreboard, but were missing a couple of key pieces: Devante Smith-Pelly, who left after blocking a shot earlier in the game, and Brooks Orpik, who was questionable to return after taking this (unpenalized) hit into the boards (thankfully he would ultimately return).

It was gut-check time. And as they’d already done so many times on this run, the Caps buckled down and played the kind of disciplined, shutdown hockey we’ve been longing to see for years. Decades. They came out and just absolutely shut down the Lightning. By the halfway point of the third, the Caps had put five shots on Vasilevskiy…and allowed zero shots on Braden Holtby, a stretch of time that included a power play for the Bolts. In fact, Tampa’s first shot of the period would not come until just over nine minutes remaining in regulation, a point shot by Victor Hedman.

That. Is how. You freaking. Do it.

With just over four minutes left, Jon Cooper pulled his goalie, setting the stage for Nicklas Backstrom (with some help from Jay Beagle) to score the most casual empty-net goal you’ll ever see in a series-deciding game.

Hugs all around!

Nothing left to do but count down the minutes, then the seconds, until we could celebrate. Take us out, John Walton!

The game officially in the books, it was time to take care of some important business. First, the handshakes, after a hard-fought and really insanely good seven-game series:

Next up…the first trophy of the postseason.

Now hockey men are notoriously superstitious, and there’s a long-standing debate over whether a team should touch the trophy they take home for winning the Conference Final…something about it not being the trophy they want, blah blah blah.

Anyway, if you are an expert lip-reader like we are, you’ll notice that this is very clearly Brooks Orpik, Nicklas Backstrom, Andre Burakovsky and Lars Eller ALL telling Ovechkin to pick up that beautiful Prince of Wales trophy:

So does he pick it up?

Damn right. Picks it up, carries it away, gets told to put it back down, grabs it again, then later turns it into a snuggle buddy and a centerpiece on his dining room table…but we’ll get to that in a sec.

This moment, btw, is randomly delightful. It just feels very on brand for both guys that Ovi would pick up the trophy and try to carry it off while Orpik has to remind him to put it back so they can take a team picture:

He’s new at this, Batya, give him a break.

Finally, trophy secured and pictures taken, the celebrating could begin…because the Capitals were officially Eastern Conference Champions.

One more, baby.

Condensed Game:
Defining Moment:

Pick your favorite moment of this video. I’ve got about 20.

They Said It:

“Maybe in the past we’ve had more skill or were better on paper, but this team, everyone knows their role, everyone pitches in, everyone is comfortable with each other. I haven’t been on a team like this where in any situation we’re confident in each other, don’t get down on each other. It’s just a strong group, and that’s really hard to come by, something we’re going to need to have going forward.” – Braden Holtby

“It hasn’t been easy for me. It’s been pretty hard. I was working really hard to get back as fast as possible. It feels really good to help the team to get a win and be a part of this team.” – Andre Burakovsky

“What we did to Boston in [the Eastern Conference Second Round] with our 5-on-5 play and not allowing them to create anything, that’s what happened to us. Washington did that to us.” – Steven Stamkos

“We’re going to do everything we can do something special here for us, for the team and for the city.” – Nicklas Backstrom

“We’re going to the Stanley Cup Final. I think everybody is happy, but we still have unfinished shit, you know what I mean. I don’t know. I’m emotional right now. I think we’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time.” – Alex Ovechkin

“You’re doing great, babe.” – Braden Holtby to an emotional Alex Ovechkin

They Tweeted It:

(Please excuse the language.)

Additional Reading:
  • #CapsBolts Postgame Notebook: Ooh Las Vegas [Caps]
  • Washington Capitals are heading to Stanley Cup finals, extinguish Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 [WaPo]
  • Capitals shut out Lightning again in Game 7, reach Stanley Cup Final [NHL]
  • Capitals break through to make Stanley Cup Final [NHL]
  • LISTEN: Hear the final epic call in Caps-Lightning Game 7 [WTOP]
  • Game 7 swung on the unlikely stick of Andre Burakovsky [WaPo]
  • Burakovsky redeems himself in Capitals’ Game 7 win against Lightning [NHL]
  • Holtby shines again, helps Capitals advance to Stanley Cup Final [NHL]
  • Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom’s long journey together reaches Stanley Cup finals at last [WaPo]
  • Alex Ovechkin ’emotional’ after reaching Cup Final for first time [ESPN]
  • Who are these guys in the Capitals sweaters? Surely not those of so many playoff heartbreaks. [WaPo]
  • Permission for optimism: The Caps take on D.C.’s pain [ESPN]
  • Capitals showing why they’re different during run to Stanley Cup Final [NHL]
  • Systems Analyst: Tom Wilson’s Game 7 might have been the most Tom Wilson game Tom Wilson has ever played [The Athletic ($)]
  • Jinx this: Alex Ovechkin touched the Prince of Wales Trophy — and carried it home [WaPo]
  • Capitals fans unleash the joy: ‘I want to high-five everyone in here right now’ [WaPo]
  • Capitals fans storm social media with outpouring of emotions (and champagne) [WaPo]