Game 7: BOS vs WSH – Overtime Victory Sends Caps To Round Two

Caps had the first chance to eliminate their opponent, the Bruins, in game 6 Sunday but the way this series had gone it was no surprise a game seven would be needed. The Caps and Bruins were tied 3-3 in the series, with all six games being one goal games, three of them in overtime.

Matt Hendricks opened the game 7 scoring midway through the first, marking the 5th time this series Washington has scored first. Chimera made a good play in the Bruins end to get the puck from the corner back to the point where Carlson awaited it. Hendricks was skating through the slot and with a bit of luck and good timing he was able to deflect Carlson’s shot past Thomas to give the Caps the 1-0 lead.

The defending Stanley Cup Champions wouldn’t go away that easily. Tyler Seguin, who was the overtime hero in game 6 came up big once again after going nearly unnoticed early in the series. Holtby made the original save on a shot from Boychuck but it squeezed through and Tyler Seguin was fastest to the loose puck, tapping it in to tie the game.

Boston had a good chance in the third to take a lead with a late power play but the Washington penalty kill came up big. The two goalies were the story of the game as they had been all series long, Thomas stopping 24 of 25 and Holtby stopping 30 of 31. And because of them, another game would be headed to overtime. The next goal decide it – it would send one team to the second round, and the other to the golf course.

Luckily for fans watching the torture of game seven overtime didn’t last that long. Bruins got the first few chances but it quickly went the other way. What was supposed to be an innocent dump-in into the Caps zone while the Bruins changed ended up hitting a player near the blue line and all of a sudden Washington had a two on one. Thomas stopped Knuble’s first shot but he couldn’t stop the second attempt by Ward.

Capitals won the game 2-1 and the series 4-3, knocking out the Boston Bruins. The Capitals will have to wait for the results of tonight’s games to see who their second round opponent will be.