The excitement all around the DMV was palpable across social media on Monday night. The Capitals were back up in Pittsburgh, in enemy territory, for what we all knew was going to be one of the hottest games of the playoffs. And the Pens and Caps did not disappoint.
Especially the Caps who looked like a playoff winning team!!! And they proved they ARE a playoff winning team as they head to the Eastern Conference Final!!
The lineup changed again– we still aren’t used to the constant and inconsistent changes. And no, Jakub Vrana did not start on the top line…sigh…
Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Stephenson
Vrana-Eller-Oshie
Connolly-Boyd-DSP
Walker-Beagle-Chiasson
Kempny-Carlson
Orlov-Niskanen
Orpik-Djoos
Backstrom was out with an injury from Game Five and well – we know where Tom Wilson was.
As the game got ready to go there was a lot of talk about Alex Ovechkin needing to set the tone early in the game. Nathan Walker and Travis Boyd played in their first NHL Playoff game. It was going to be a one-shift-at-a-time kind of night.
Here’s what the FiCP team was sharing during the game as well as what we got from your tweets.
We were between the edge of our seats and throwing things at the TV while screaming during the first period. Oshie pinged off the goalpost on the PP and our hearts sunk a little. Boyd received good marks for his play. Kempny headed to the box for a bit of a lame tripping at the 1125 mark and the Caps PK was pretty darn good. The defense on both sides of the ice kept the shots on goal to a minimum. There were 13 shots total with zero goals.
And we were all freaking out and drinking lots! As our own Tweeter @FederalDuck added a bit of Literary Summary for us all:
First period summary narrated by Dickens: It wasn’t the best Caps at times, it wasn’t the worst Caps at times. It was the age of few SOG, it was the age of foolishness by Kempny, it was the epoch of belief n the Caps, it was the epoch of incredulity ofNBCSportsannouncers #ALLCAPS
— FriendsinColdPlaces (@inColdPlacesDC) May 7, 2018
Even the Pens played around with their lines to keep the Caps on their toes.
#Pens using a Guentzel-Crosby-Kessel trio. I can't remember the last time Crosby and Kessel skated together. -SK
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) May 7, 2018
The second period the Caps came out with a lot of hustle – just enough for a Beagle to Walker pass to get a shot to Chiasson to score first for the Capitals. And PPG got really quite as Walker celebrated his first NHL Playoff point.
The Penguins seemed to lose some steam after the goal. The Caps kept peppering Murray- especially that Vrana guy. Man we like him! And then that guy Letang tied it up with a shot under Holtby’s arm and with it came renewed fan energy. Holtby, all-in-all had some awesome saves!
Second Period Literary Summary:
2nd period summary narrated by Melville: Call me Capitals. Some years ago – never mind how long precisely having no Conference Finals appearances, ¬hing particular 2interest me n the playoffs, I thought I would sail about a little and see the icy part of the Conference Finals.
— FriendsinColdPlaces (@inColdPlacesDC) May 8, 2018
Back at the third period we saw our heroes doing more of the same. Everyone was getting a little antsy. They kept getting close. Holtby kept up the brick wall routine. All players on both sides were looking tired; we think our hearts stopped a couple times. Unfortunately the clock ran out. Gotta say the Caps dug in deep but couldn’t make it happen.
Third Period Literary Summary:
Third period summary narrated by Tolkien: When Mr. Bilbo Milbury of NBCSports announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday w/ a party of the Penguins winning it in the third period, there was much talk and excitement in NBCSports studio. #didnthappen
— FriendsinColdPlaces (@inColdPlacesDC) May 8, 2018
And then there was OT…
Pre-OT narrated by Tolkien: my finger nails look like Gollum’s teeth. Nervous anticipation has washed over me for what can only be called “My Precious Cup.” #ALLCaps
— FriendsinColdPlaces (@inColdPlacesDC) May 8, 2018
It was an amazing OT – made perfect by a heck of a Russian play- Kuzy scored on a pass from Orlov and Ovechkin!!!
The curse is broken. Hallelujah!!!
OT summary narrated by Tolkien: PENGUINS YOU SHALL NOT PASS!!! #ALLCaps pic.twitter.com/znAjRftiK0
— FriendsinColdPlaces (@inColdPlacesDC) May 8, 2018