Pittsburgh leads the second-round series 3-1 and can eliminate Washington with a victory Saturday night. Marc-Andre Fleury has allowed 31 goals on 394 shots faced. His expression was stoic, and yet it seemed to say so much.
This time past year, the Capitals - fresh off a strong Game 5 effort that kept their playoff run alive - saw their Presidents' Trophy-winning season end in a Game 6 loss to Pittsburgh.
The Washington Capitals hope to win their third straight game and get over that playoff hump by getting to the Eastern Conference Finals. It's going to be the toughest game of the series.
Both Sid and his original Kid played full games on Saturday night. "Hopefully, this gets us rolling in the right frame of mind".
Andre Burakovsky also scored, and Braden Holtby stopped 20 shots in his finest game of the series.
Only 16 seconds into the third period, Nicklas Backstrom added an insurance goal for Washington.
"We're having fun now", Coach Barry Trotz said.
As indicated by Friday's practice, Ovechkin skated on the third line and Burkovsky moved up to the first.
That's what most of the betting market is counting on, with 70 percent of the tickets on the Penguins. The Capitals have had the shot advantage in every game so far, topping 30 chances on net in all five contests, while Pittsburgh has reached the 30-shot plateau just once (during the Capitals' Game 3 overtime win). In Game 6, it was his physicality that made a difference.
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"It doesn't matter who you are", Backstrom said. "You have to finish your checks, and obviously, it worked out today". "If we can hold on to the puck a little bit more, we should get more shots. They're going to bring it". On Monday night, the Capitals showed they had at least made some progress since then.
That created a two-on-one with Burakovsky and Oshie, and Burakovsky kept it for himself, wedging the puck between Fleury.
Facing the brink of elimination and a 2-1 deficit entering the third period of Game 5, the Capitals managed to rally.
Three goals in five minutes sparked sing-song chants of "FLEU-RY!" "When he's been healthy we've had a rhythm, he gets into it defensively and has set a tone on the perimeter for us along with Kawhi (Leonard)".
"We're playing one of the best teams in the league", Holtby said. "He's been a good complement to me and Nick".
Evgeny Kuznetsov, who scored his fourth goal of the series in Game 5 and has a career-high eight points in these playoffs, said Game 7 hasn't been on the Capitals' radar since then fell to the brink of elimination at 3-1.
None of it worked as Washington pushed the Penguins around. "Since Game 3 (when the Capitals also won in Pittsburgh), we've had a sense of calmness about what we're doing". "I think it's more about what we need to do to win the next one". They're not just comfortable but able to take a lead - and build on it. With experience, you can see things evolving a little quicker, you can focus on the right things, you can play with confidence because you've been through it before. We can't think about Game 7. The Caps came from behind in Game 5 to force this Game 6.
It feels like the Pittsburgh Penguins blew their chance to close out this series, and now the Capitals are in a comfortable spot where they'll be very confident on their home ice.
He's day-to-day with a lower-body injury after an ugly hit from the Capitals' Tom Wilson, which means the Penguins' blue line- already severely depleted with the loss of top defender Kris Letang - will take yet another blow.
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