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| "This is our last dance, this is ourselves..." |
The numbers against the Caps are daunting heading in to the
game, and everyone knows it. Boston
won three game sevens last spring, including the final game of the Final, en
route to their first Stanley Cup championship since 1972. They became the first team since the
lockout to go seven games in the first round and win the Cup. They “own” game seven, if you will.
Washington is 1-3 in game sevens in the Alex Ovechkin era,
with the lone victory coming in the first round of the 2009 playoffs against
the Rangers on home ice. All three
game seven losses came against a lower seed. And the Capitals have never won a game seven in franchise
history when leading a series 3-2 and falling in game six.
But for this incarceration of the Capitals, there are many
that feel that this game seven, and this year, could be different. And for good reason. Washington matches up very well against
this Bruins team, and they have played them very tight. So tight, in fact, that according to
the Elias Sports Bureau, this is the first playoff series in NHL history in
which the first six games have been decided by one goal.
Dale Hunter, despite his unorthodox personnel decisions and
controversial bench management, has finally gotten his roster to go for what
he’s selling.
"Bruce was here 20 games and Dale's been here 60,” said
veteran winger Mike Knuble to ESPN’s Scott Burnside earlier this week. “It's taken every bit of that 60 games
to get everybody to buy in."
The result has been a team that some expected to miss the
playoffs carrying the defending Stanley Cup champions to a seventh and decisive
game. Even when Washington made
the playoffs, the conventional wisdom was that the big, deep, talented Bruins
would wipe the floor with the Capitals and their rookie goaltender, Braden
Holtby. But that hasn’t been the
case.
There are, absolutely, reasons to believe.
As always, follow me on Twitter here for news and updates.
Follow @HarryHawkings
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