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Game Seven Is Upon Us

May 23, 2018, 3:49 PM ET [61 Comments]
James Tanner
Washington Capitals Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT


Including Playoffs, Alexander Ovechkin has played in 1118 NHL games.

This is the deepest into the post season he's ever gone. Tonight he has a chance to advance to the Finals for the first time in what is one of the greatest careers in NHL history.



Ovechkin is hilarious, he's fun to watch and if you're going to idolize athletes, you could do a lot worse. It's been 15 years and the only thing bad I've ever heard about him came out of his own mouth and was political. But even that is a lesson for us - you can like the person and what they do independently of their politics.

Myself included, I think we've let ourselves get way too defensive, hyper-critical and are way too ready to distance ourselves from anyone who doesn't share our same exact beliefs.

Personally, I see a real lesson in Ovechkin - he's a complicated guy from a complicated country who believes what he believes. It really has nothing to do with Washington, hockey, the NHL or me. Whatever he does off the ice - within reason - I'm OK with. When he's on the ice, he's the best guy in the league.

Now, maybe not the best player, but certainly close. And certainly the most fun. Who else, scores, hits, skates around with a huge grin and then gives hilarious answers to inane questions? There is no doubt Ovechkin is the best in the NHL when it comes to pure entertainment.

So what better to way to finish off the season than by having the NHL's best story (Vegas) vs their most entertaining player?

It can happen tonight.

I've been writing about this series for two weeks and I don't really know what else to say: Washington has played out of their minds, and more or less dominated one of the NHL's best teams.

The Caps will have their same lineup that won them game six, which means Burakovsky is in (which you really shouldn't have to check, but whatever).

Tonight is a win/win situation.

The Capitals win, and we're happy.

The Capitals lose, well, given their roster, they've already made it 1000x farther than they had any right to. To be perfectly honest, the Lightning are an elite NHL team that is built for being exactly where they are. They are what the Capitals were for the last five or so years.

The Capitals are a great example about the best laid plans, about luck in sports, and about the follies of trying to build a perfect team 'for the future.'

But anyways, tonight should be a great game, I highly look forward to it.

Here's hoping Ol' Backstrom can manage a few High Fives!!!
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