The Capitals aren't dead yet

The Capitals still have a pulse. After starting this Eastern Conference Final against the Lightning with two wins and then losing three straight games, Washington struck back with a 3-0 home win to keep its season alive in Monday’s Game 6.

So the NHL will get its biggest game of the year on Wednesday in Tampa, where these two teams will meet for the right to face Vegas in the Stanley Cup Final. A Lightning win would mark two Final appearances in three years. A Capitals win would get them to their first Final since 1998 and give them another shot at their first Cup win ever.

This series has been hard to figure out from the beginning. But the Capitals gave themselves a chance with a nearly flawless Game 6.

Monday was a reminder: The Capitals have the supporting cast to win a Cup.

Braden Holtby had a bad year. The Capitals didn’t start him for the first two games of the playoffs, benching him briefly for longtime backup Philipp Grubauer. Holtby was aces in the first two rounds and the first two games of this conference final, but he was pretty bad in the run of three losses that brought the Capitals to this point. Holtby runs hot and cold, but when he’s hot, he’s scalding. He was at his best in Game 6. The Lightning put 24 shots on him, and he turned away all of them to keep the home team in good shape. The Capitals controlled the puck most of the night and deserved to win. Holtby made sure they did.

The Capitals’ go-ahead goal came on a power play in the second period. Washington is blessed with one of the best passing centers of this generation in Nicklas Backstrom, to go with numerous devastating shooters — Alex Ovechkin, John Carlson, and T.J. Oshie the most prominent among them. On this goal, Backstrom slipped the same pass to Oshie that he’s slipped him a million times before. Oshie set up in tight real estate in the high slot in front of Andrei Vasilevskiy, and Backstrom delivered him the puck on a platter.

It was a fine example of why the Capitals’ power play is so dangerous. The two players on the far side of the ice from Backstrom were rightfully preoccupied with Ovechkin, who had saddled up in a comfortable spot at the left faceoff dot. Oshie was able to float around in a soft spot, and when Backstrom fed him, he ripped it home with authority.

If the Capitals go on to win Game 7 and then their first Stanley Cup, the Oshie goal in Game 6 will be a solid microcosm of how they did it. The Capitals still run primarily on Ovechkin, as they have in so many doomed playoff runs over the last decade. He’s their best player and the most lethal scorer around, but his teammates have seized on a lot of opportunities.

Evgeny Kuznetsov has arguably been the best forward in the league in these playoffs. Lars Eller and Tom Wilson have provided vital depth. (Wilson was voracious on defense in the latter half of Game 6’s third period. When he’s not taking penalties, he’s useful.) Oshie’s been solid, and Holtby has at times been the Capitals’ best overall player. The Capitals’ penalty kill was perfect in Game 6, too, after getting torched a few times earlier.

Not everyone who suits up for Washington has been good, but the Capitals have gotten big, timely goals from players who don’t score many. Their second goal Monday came from Devante Smith-Pelly, marking his fifth point in 18 playoff games, after Chandler Stephenson won a race to the puck and negated an icing call.

The Caps won on Monday despite Ovechkin making little statistical noise, either on Washington’s goals or in the major on-ice possession stats. That says more about their chances than any platitudes about how other Caps teams would’ve folded in this moment, but this one didn’t. These Capitals are good for a spate of simple reasons: They have good goaltending, tremendous depth at center, and Ovechkin. That’s a lot! And the center depth is better now than ever, with both Kuznetsov and Eller at the top of their games.

The Lightning are more used to this stage. But it will be easy to overanalyze Game 7.

Washington hasn’t been this far since that 1998 run. The Lightning will play their third Eastern Conference Final Game 7 in four years. They’re 1-1 in the last two.

But this game won’t hinge on experience. There’s a great chance it won’t even hinge on which team’s stars play best. Which team goes to the Cup Final might just depend on whether either goaltender can enter God Mode for 60 minutes. Vasilevskiy was there in Games 3 and 4 and to some extent in Game 5. Holtby was rock-solid in Game 6, when he pitched his first shutout of the whole season, regular season or playoffs.

Every Game 7 is volatile. But a Game 7 in a series like this one, where home teams are just 2-4 and the two goalies have traded blows game after game, is even harder to figure. The only certainty is that it’s going to be a blast to watch.

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