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1. The No-Goal
Alright, let’s get right to it - down 3-2 halfway through the third period, the Caps thought they’d tied the game. The referees and fine folks in the League’s replay review office in Toronto thought otherwise.
An overhead look of the Capitals no-goal pic.twitter.com/Kh02HlIqAx
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) April 23, 2019
No goal.
— Sean Tierney (@ChartingHockey) April 23, 2019
Remains 3-2 Canes. pic.twitter.com/cQqMp4qqnR
Upon review...
Ovie does not like this call pic.twitter.com/l7upHWNpuJ
— Mike Brophy (@HockeyBroph) April 23, 2019
Ovi is all of us.
— Sophia (@perfectlysoph) April 23, 2019
A few minutes later, an actual explanation:
Explanation on WASH no-goal pic.twitter.com/3t6RJOrgjg
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) April 23, 2019
Reactions from the team(s)...
Alex Ovechkin on overturned goal: “I saw the puck. (Mrazek) didn’t gain control. He didn’t see it. I don’t know what the referee saw.”#ALLCAPS
— Chris Kuc (@ChrisKuc) April 23, 2019
Alex Ovechkin did his best to hide his...displeasure: "They make weird calls all game, but not surprised. I don't want to be bad guy or something, but it wasn't fun." #Caps
— Brian McNally (@bmcnally14) April 23, 2019
IT WAS NOT FUN: Alex Ovechkin reacts to his disallowed goal in the 3rd period of the #Capitals game 6 loss to the Hurricanes #ALLCAPS @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/mGMRYS7pLK
— NBC4 Sports (@NBC4Sports) April 23, 2019
Reirden: “They don’t have to give you a reason why (refs) and they did not come to the bench and give me a reason why.”
— Sara Civ (@SaraCivian) April 23, 2019
Brind’Amour says he thought the refs made the right call then he said “but of course I’m gonna say that” ...he says he gets frustration on the other side too
— Sara Civ (@SaraCivian) April 23, 2019
By the end of the game, Ovi had enough of Chris Rooney and the feeling was mutual:
Ovi applauds the refs after slashing call, gets ejected. pic.twitter.com/kp1UeGHW7L
— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) April 23, 2019
And if you like salt with your open wounds...
Absurdly, that wasn't even the worst "disallowed Ovechkin would-be-game-tying-goal in the third period of an elimination game" of the Ovi Era. #toosoon https://t.co/OfttfYtUUA
— Japers' Rink (@JapersRink) April 23, 2019
2. The Rest of the Game
All of that said, the Hurricanes were the better team in Game 6, and it wasn’t particularly close. And if you don’t like shitty officiating (including but not limited to the play above and the embellishment call on Dmitry Orlov), try not to put yourself in a position where shitty officiating can have a meaningful impact on the outcome of a game.
The Caps were not good in Game 6, particularly after the first frame and on the power play, and so a questionable call denied them the game-tying tally. And that was pretty much all she wrote.
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The Hurricanes turned up the heat in the 3rd, getting half of their 18 slot shots in the final period and scoring three times (one empty-netter) to force Game 7. All games have been won by the home team so far, will Game 7 be any different? #ALLCAPS #TakeWarning #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/K0uC2Okkgl
— The Point (@ThePointHockey) April 23, 2019
What say you, Coach?
"A little bit of it is self-inflicted," Reirden says about the loss. Says he still needs more from all of his players
— Adam Zielonka (@Adam_Zielonka) April 23, 2019
Reirden: They’re a hardworking team and they earned their breaks tonight
— Sara Civ (@SaraCivian) April 23, 2019
Asked specifically about the play of Evgeny Kuznetsov, #ALLCAPS Todd Reirden said the team needs more productivity out of a number of players.
— Ben Raby (@BenRaby31) April 23, 2019
Kuzy still seeking 1st goal of the series. I counted 3 turnovers at o-zone blueline on failed entries on PP. Was down on 3rd line in P3
That the Caps had a chance to possibly sneak in and steal this one owes to a couple of opportunistic goals and some fine goaltending. But this was more like Game 3 than Game 4, and nothing like Game 5. And it’s that last home game the Caps will have to try to replicate on Wednesday night.
Alex Ovechkin did do this, but he and Nicklas Backstrom can’t do it alone...
What a treasure pic.twitter.com/6xuhT0oFsy
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) April 22, 2019
3. A(nother) Game 7
Hello darkness, my old friend...
The Capitals and Hurricanes are headed to a Game 7, and that might not be great news for the defending Stanley Cup Champions.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 23, 2019
The Caps are 5-11 all-time in Game 7s, the worst winning pct in the NHL (min. 10 Game 7s).
The Hurricanes are 4-0 in Game 7s since moving to Carolina.
Seriously, though, slow your roll, ESPN - those ‘Canes wins came a decade ago and only 11 of those Caps games are Ovi Era (granted... 4-7). So, grain of salt and all that.
But here we are and we might not be here much longer if things don’t change:
After a 5-2 loss in Game 6, Capitals coach Todd Reirden said they're going to need more urgency to defeat the Hurricanes in Game 7: "We need to get back to Game 5’s level of compete, urgency, desperation and then some to be able to come out on top here." https://t.co/bWVqMYGlFa
— NHL.com (@NHLdotcom) April 23, 2019
Braden Holtby had the key quote tonight:
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) April 23, 2019
"We just didn’t have enough guys on board tonight to win that game. That’s going to have to change if we’re going to have success in Game 7."
Braden Holtby had the key quote tonight:
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) April 23, 2019
"We just didn’t have enough guys on board tonight to win that game. That’s going to have to change if we’re going to have success in Game 7."
THIS is the most accurate and important quote of the night. From Braden Holtby: "I don’t know. I thought we played pretty well to come out and we just faded. I’m not sure why. At this point it doesn’t matter. It’s over with and it’s down to one game." #Caps
— Brian McNally (@bmcnally14) April 23, 2019
Has anyone seen Evgeny Kuznetsov? Anyone?
— Barry Svrluga (@barrysvrluga) April 23, 2019
He best turn up Wednesday. https://t.co/NZQsJydvMb
Oh, and you’re already sick of hearing about “Mr. Game 7,” but here’s a fun fact for you: Justin Williams has won every Game 7 he’s played in in the NHL and had at least a point in each... except for one...
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And before we get out of here, one more fun Justin Williams fact: this is what he looked like when he entered the League...
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