Wow.
No other words to describe Game 7 of the Eastern Conference First Round series between the seven seed Carolina Hurricanes, who are in the playoffs for the first time in ten years, and the defending Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals.
This series was about as back and forth as it got. The first two games went to Washington, although the Canes showed a lot of fight in each, even sending Game 2 into overtime. The next two shifted back to Raleigh, where the Canes played really well, with the assistance of the loudest and most passionate fanbase in the NHL, winning Game 3 in dominating fashion and Game 4 in close fashion.
The Caps dominated Game 5, making the Canes look nothing like they did in Games 3 and 4. The Canes dominated Game 6. The home team had won each game in this series.
But then came Game 7. The Canes had to play better in a hostile environment, which they had been outscored in 14-5. Mrazek, who had been on fire at home, had struggled immensely on the road. The Canes were playing for their first playoff series win in 10 years. The Caps were playing to defend the cup.
Here comes Game 7. It had everything you could possibly want in a Game 7. Lead changes. Multiple big comebacks. Great skating. Outstanding goaltending. Tight defense.
It started all Caps. Caps third-line center Andre Burakovsky started the scoring only 2:13 into the first period on a point-blank shot that went over Mrazek’s shoulders. Less than five minutes later, Ovechkin found Caps winger Tom Wilson on a two-on-one, and Wilson hit the back of the net for a 2-0 lead.
Things were not looking good for the Canes. Going down 2-0 into the third period, the Canes needed something. They went on the penalty kill at the 11:29 mark of the second period when winger Jordan Martinook tripped Caps defenseman Nick Jensen (no relation), further adding on to the Caps momentum.
But it was that penalty kill that got the Canes their start. Sebastian Aho, who, going into this game, was talked about as being the guy who needed to get going for the Canes, scored his second goal of the postseason at the 9:51 mark off a rebound that went off Holtby’s pads.
Not too long later, Caps center Evgeny Kuznetsov scored his first goal of the postseason to make it 3-1 Caps. Momentum, Washington. Near the end of the period, Canes winger Teuvo “Turbo” Teravainen turned on the jets, putting a shot past Holtby’s glove at the 16:37 mark of the second period to make it 3-2 Caps.
The third period. The moment the fans had been waiting for. The Canes knew what they were up against.
They delivered. Jordan Staal, off a pass from defenseman Jaccob Slavin, skated into the Caps zone, and fired a shot past Holtby’s stick at the 17:04 mark of the third period to tie the game up. After a long period of time where there was tons of offensive pressure, but no goals, the Caps looked to score again. Caps winger Tom Wilson passed to Nick Backstrom, and the pass trickled across the goal mouth.
DENIED! After Mrazek found himself a couple feet out from the netting, winger Brock McGinn was there to save the day. He dove towards the tricking puck and poked it out, keeping the score tied at 3. The game would go into overtime.
OVERTIME! The last time the Canes were in overtime in a playoff game was Game 7 of their Eastern Conference Semifinals matchup against the Boston Bruins, when of May 11, 2009, former Canes winger Scott Walker scored in double overtime to send the Canes onto the next round.
The storyline would be THE EXACT SAME in this game. After a scoreless, first overtime period in which the Canes dominated, but the Caps had a variety of opportunities, the Canes would score the game-winning goal in double overtime. Justin Williams, Mr. Game 7 himself, found Game 7 hero Brock McGinn ion the far side of Holtby for an easy tap-in at the 11:05 mark of the second overtime. This sent the Canes onto the next round, and shocked an already-silent Capital One Arena crowd.
The celebrations were all across the Carolinas. After 10 years of misery, the Canes won a playoff series, against the defending Stanley Cup Champions nonetheless. The Canes looked significantly better than the Caps in the two overtime periods.
And while the Canes have a long way to go, that Game 7 victory against our biggest rival sure felt like a Stanley Cup win. Our quest for the cup, however, continues with Game 1 against another divisional rival, the New York Islanders, at 7 P.M. on NBCSN. The Canes are coming off a tough, seven-game series, while the Isles are coming off a series sweep of a hockey powerhouse, the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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