Despite Loss, Capitals' Dominating Play Could Give Rangers Problems in Game 7

The Washington Capitals put forth their best 60 minutes of the second round Sunday. They had the New York Rangers on their heels, hemmed in their zone and gasping for air throughout Game 6, the first time anything resembling that had occurred in this series.

The Rangers scored four of the game’s first five goals and staved off elimination with a 4-3 victory at Verizon Center, which sets up the third Game 7 in four years between these teams Wednesday night in New York.

All the elements that had worked in Washington's favor throughout the series eluded it in Game 6.

To say the Capitals have leaned on Braden Holtby in this series would be an understatement. After nearly five games of steady support, he snapped like an old wicker chair in the late stages of Game 5 and throughout Game 6. His 24 saves on 28 shots gave him an .857 save percentage, his worst in any single game this postseason.

The Capitals have thrived on being opportunistic in this series, but it was the Rangers who made the most of their grade-A chances in Game 6 while Henrik Lundqvist (40 saves) stole the show. 

Jay Beagle, Troy Brouwer and Andre Burakovsky spent the first 30 seconds of Game 6 cycling the puck in the Rangers zone and generated two shots on net, an encouraging start after a crushing overtime loss in Game 5. In what became a microcosm of Game 6, Chris Kreider exploded out of his zone and around Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen, then used his strength to shield Niskanen from the puck before backhanding the puck past Holtby for a 1-0 lead less than a minute into the contest. 

There were signs of panic in the Capitals after that goal, the Rangers’ third in the past 12 minutes between Games 5 and 6. The Rangers had a 5-2 edge in shots in the first 2:12 of the period and looked every bit like the better team, just as they had throughout the series.

However, the Capitals outshot the Rangers 43-23 over the final 57:48.

That would’ve been enough to get the Capitals to the third round in the Corsi Hockey League playoffs, but alas, they were given a taste of the medicine they had been feeding the Rangers in this series. New York center Derek Stepan admitted after the contest that his team had scraped the victory despite Washington's dominance, per Dan Rosen of NHL.com:

Brouwer took an inexplicable, inexcusable roughing penalty in the final seconds of the first period that became Kreider’s second goal of the period after the Rangers won the ensuing faceoff. There was nothing accidental about the Rangers’ two goals, as they outshot the Capitals 20-17 in an exciting, back-and-forth first period.

The rest of the game, however, should make you believe that Game 7 isn’t a foregone conclusion for the Rangers.

Coach Barry Trotz shuffled his lines, and it resulted in a Jason Chimera goal 28 seconds into the second period. The Capitals outshot the Rangers 18-4 over the middle 20 minutes, and only Lundqvist, who had been relegated to “other goaltender” status in this series, kept the Rangers in front.

Rick Nash and Dan Boyle stuck knives into the Capitals with two goals in the first five minutes of the third period. With a 4-1 deficit and 15 minutes to play, the Capitals could have turned their attention to setting tones for Game 7, which is code for “Have Tom Wilson run into a bunch of Rangers and fight Tanner Glass before getting a game misconduct.”

Instead, the Capitals did a rare thing for teams that are down three goals in the third period of a playoff game—they kept playing hockey.

Evgeny Kuznetsov capitalized on a turnover and made it 4-2. Then Joel Ward used his size and hands to cut the lead to 4-3 with more than nine minutes to play.

Before you could say “score effects,” we again had a game. 

Alex Ovechkin nearly buried the tying goal off a rebound. There were other chances, too, including a power play in the final two minutes that served more as a momentum destroyer than a difference-maker. After surging at the Rangers shift after shift at five-on-five, the Capitals stood around at five-on-four and six-on-four as the clock eventually expired on their comeback.

There’s hope in Washington, though. The Capitals were 101 seconds from a five-game series win and their first trip to the conference final in the Ovechkin era before the Rangers ripped their hearts out in Game 5. When Kreider scored his two goals in Game 6, the Capitals had every reason to shrug and either start focusing on Game 7 or tuck into the fetal position as another playoff collapse began to take shape.

You know: Capitals Playoff Hockey.

Instead, they outshot the Rangers 28-8 over the final two periods and nearly forced overtime. Yeah, they may want to do something about a power play that can’t execute a clean zone entry with John Carlson leading the attack. And Ovechkin having zero points in his past four games (like he did when the Capitals blew a 3-2 lead to the Rangers in the 2013 playoffs) is a huge red flag. 

But enter the possibility of Ryan McDonagh being at less than 100 percent for Game 7 after Ovechkin crumpled him like a beer can in a decompression chamber during the third period, and maybe, just maybe, the Capitals aren’t careening toward another disaster. 

Game 7 on Wednesday feels like a toss-up. Considering the Capitals' past two Game 7s against the Rangers—two losses by a combined 7-1—that’s about all they can ask for.

All statistics via NHL.com.

Dave Lozo covers the NHL for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter: @DaveLozo.