Derek Stepan scored at 11:24 of overtime to give the New York Rangers a 2-1 victory over the Washington Capitals in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Rangers completed a comeback from a 3-1 series deficit in the second round for the second year in a row. The Rangers will now face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon in New York.
The Capitals had dominated play in overtime, but ended up with a faceoff in their own zone after icing the puck twice. Stepan won the faceoff clean against Eric Fehr, and the Rangers worked the puck around to Dan Girardi at the point. Braden Holtby saved Girardi’s shot but left a juicy rebound out to Stepan alone in the left circle. 
“Great battle. One shot, one moment. I think we played great in OT, we had chances. But one moment can end the series and end the game. It’s over. I wish them luck,” said Washington left wing Alex Ovechkin.
The Rangers haven’t lost a Game 7 since losing to the Capitals in Washington in 2009. The Rangers are 7-0 in Game 7 at home. Facing elimination, the Rangers have won an NHL record 10 home games in a row since 2008. This was the 14th consecutive one-goal game the Rangers played in the playoffs dating back to last year’s Stanley Cup finals, another NHL record.
Henrik Lundqvist made 35 saves on 36 shots for the Rangers. Braden Holtby made 37 saves on 39 shots in defeat for the Capitals. It was Lundqvist’s sixth consecutive Game 7 victory, joining Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy as the only goalies in NHL history to win six Game 7’s.
“A lot of these games come down to will, how badly you want it. The teams are so even that it comes down to a battle in the corner, in front of the net, all over the ice. It’s one-on-one battles against the opponent, and if you want it bad enough I think you’re going to have a good chance of winning,” said Lundqvist.
“It was pretty much a hard-fought series. Both teams back and forth, momentum swings. For most of overtime, they have the puck and we just find a way to stick with it. [Lundqvist] made some big saves and we were able to get a fortunate bounce,” said Stepan.
“Last year, I think we might’ve deserved to be down 3-1. This year, I don’t think — not that we didn’t deserve it, but we were in that situation and we were very close to it being the other way around. We were confident in the way we were playing, the way we were approaching the game. It was just a matter of winning three in a row. We knew we could beat this team three times in a row, it was just a matter of doing it,” said New York defenseman Marc Staal.
“We were so close to finishing the series here [in Game 5] but we didn’t, and they came back. I don’t think we played bad. …I don’t know what to say, but it’s tough,” said Ovechkin.
The Capitals came within 1:41 of ending this series in Game 5 before Chris Kreider’s tying goal that preceded Ryan McDonagh’s overtime winner. After the Capitals lost Game 6, they faced a Game 7 with a franchise history that included nine blown postseason two-game leads and five blown 3-1 series leads. After the flurry that finished Game 6 with a 4-3 loss after trailing 4-1 early in the third period, Ovechkin stepped up to guarantee a Capitals victory in Game 7.
Ovechkin did everything he could to back up that guarantee. Nicklas Backstrom worked the puck along the boards on the left side in the Rangers zone with Marcus Johansson. Johansson found Ovechkin charging down the right to the slot, where he beat McDonagh and Lundqvist.
“I know people went after Alex for saying what he did. I’d love to go in a foxhole with guys that will stick their neck out and say, ‘You know what? I’m gonna deliver for you.’ And he did. He was really strong. He got a goal,” said Washington head coach Barry Trotz.
Rick Nash almost tied the game late in the first period when he found himself on a breakaway while killing off Derick Brassard’s tripping penalty. Nash tried a backhand between Holtby’s legs after a deke, but Holtby stopped the shot.
Kevin Hayes equalized for the Rangers at 6:22 of the second period after Mike Green gifted the Rangers with four minutes of power play time for two consecutive penalties. Green’s second penalty for cross-checking came 35 seconds after he had gotten out of the box for tripping. On the second power play, Hayes converted J.T. Miller’s cross-ice feed at the far post.
“We played a great first period. Didn’t give them much, then we made mistakes. After that we tried to dominate them. We tried to play physical. Obviously, [Henrik] Lundqvist was very good today and the last couple of games. I don’t think anyone could point a finger on someone else. We have a great team, and I think we deserved a better result,” said Ovechkin.
“You look at the growth of [Nicklas] Backstrom and Ovi [Ovechkin]. They put themselves out there, and I don’t know if they would have done that in the past. I’ve seen them mature not only as hockey players, but as people and leaders. They still have lots of good hockey left in them,” said Trotz.
“I think everybody has seen how Braden has been elevated as an elite goaltender in this league. Holtby has been our backbone all year. He’s played more games than anybody in the National Hockey League this year and he’s turning into our DNA. Great character, great work ethic, and that’s what is going to make us stronger as an organization,” said Trotz.
“We went after the New York Rangers in their own barn and almost pulled it off. You’re going to see the Washington Capitals back here again,” said Trotz.
“We enjoy this moment and we get ourselves ready for the Eastern Conference Finals. We still have a lot of work to do,” said Stepan.
“We played Tampa [Bay] a long, long time ago. So I’m going to take tonight, soak it in, and I’m going to start getting ready probably [Thursday] morning on that,” said New York head coach Alain Vigneault.
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