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You’re Doing Great, Babe: An Oral History of the Capitals vs. Lightning Game 7

When the Caps took the ice at Amalie Arena on May 23, 2018, they found themselves in exceedingly familiar and yet completely foreign territory. After all, it was a Game 7 – their first of the 2018 postseason but far from the first one in recent Caps’ history. They knew about these winner-take-all showdowns.

What made this night different were the stakes. Venturing into the Eastern Conference Final for the first time in two decades – and the first time overall for the Alex Ovechkin Capitals – the Caps had stayed alive in the series thanks to an incredible effort in Game 6 at home and now returned to Tampa with the chance to do something no one thought possible. Win and they’d move on to the Stanley Cup Final to face the upstart Vegas Golden Knights… lose, and they’d just go home.

Now one year later, a look back at this pivotal moment in the Caps’ Cup run.

11:36 a.m.

The Hot Lap has become an integral part of the Caps’ pregame skate when away from DC, initiated back in the first round by Jay Beagle and then snatched away by the captain after a Game 4 loss in Pittsburgh back in Round 2. With the Caps having dropped their last road visit to Tampa, it’s time for Ovechkin to step down and a new face to emerge. And that new face is…

Pregame skate and Trotzian Hot Lap in the books, the boys are ready to do what no one thought they could do.

The fans are ready, too, both in DC…

…and in Florida:

It’s go time.

8:16 p.m.
Start of 1st Period

The puck drops on the final game of the Eastern Conference Final, and it becomes clear right from the get-go that the Caps’ top line, at least, is not messing around. Less than a minute into the first period, Tom Wilson forces a turnover by laying out Chris Kunitz with a huge hit at neutral ice. The puck ends up on Evgeny Kuznetsov’s stick, and then:

John Walton’s call

So the Caps get on the board with that all-important first goal – and yet despite the lead, nobody in a Caps’ jersey is feeling comfortable right now.

1st period, 7:01 remaining

The Caps are leading, Tampa’s pressing, and things are starting to get feisty on the ice. With a mass of humanity gathering around the Tampa net in yet another post-whistle scrum, Bolts blueliner Braydon Coburn makes the odd decision to steal Kuznetsov’s jersey and fling it on the ground.

Needless to say, Tom Wilson… is unimpressed.

After a brief scuffle, both Coburn and Wilson are sent to their respective penalty boxes and told to sit quietly for two minutes. Instead they choose to use that time to yell at each other across the timekeeper’s bench – but surely they’ll wear themselves out and nothing more will come of this. After all, it’s Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. There shall be no fisticuffs tonight.

…right?

1st period, 4:43 remaining

Welp.

Don’t steal people’s jerseys, BRAYDON.

Wilson gets the better of Coburn on the ice, and the fans waste no time in getting the better of him off it:

End of 1st Period: Caps 1, Lightning 0

Start of 2nd period

Once again, despite the slim lead on the big board, no one’s heart rate is exactly even as Tampa continues t-AHHHHHH!

And then Hedman almost-AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!

2nd period, 11:01 remaining

The playoffs are a time of heroes, both likely and unlikely. In the first period, Alex Ovechkin plays the role of the likeliest hero ever as he continues his goal-scoring frenzy with the opening tally. In the second? It’s none other than Andre Burakovsky, finding his game at last and stepping in to give the Caps a much-needed 2-0 lead.

John Walton’s call

2nd period, 5:39 remaining

With the Caps back in control, things once again turned chippy, leading to a scary moment when Cedric Paquette runs Brooks Orpik into the boards:

And the result of this blatant disregard for the rules and player safety was?

No call.

Cool. Cool cool cool.

Rolling right along…

2nd period, 3:29 remaining

Remember how we mentioned earlier that playoffs can be a time for unlikely heroes? And how Burakovsky found his game? About that…

John Walton’s call

End of 2nd period: Caps 3, Lightning 0

Start of 3rd period

A 3-0 lead in hand and the path to the Stanley Cup Final looking clearer and clearer, it’s time for the Caps to do what they’ve become so adept at doing over the past 18 games: lock that sucker down.

The Caps are smothering the Lightning, keeping them from getting too many shots on net. And when the rare shooter does break through, Braden Holtby is there to make the big save:

3rd period, 3:43 remaining

Nicklas Backstrom seals it with the empty-netter…

John Walton’s call

…and it is time…

…to start…

…CELEBRATING.

End of Game: Caps 4, Lightning 0; Caps win series 4-3

Postgame

With the victory, the Caps clinch a date with the Golden Knights and get a shiny new trophy to add to their collection – one that the captain wastes no time getting his hands on, jinxes and curses be damned…

…even if he’s not quite sure what to do with it afterwards.

It’s just one more step in what has been a very long journey for everyone, but particularly these two:

“One more.”

After the game, the captain struggles to put his feelings into words amid the emotion of the moment.

Luckily, as always, Braden Holtby’s got his back.

Now it’s home to DC, new trophy in hand, as the quest for an even better one begins.

And things are starting to feel a bit different.

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