Washington Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin thinks he knows which team will emerge victorious from tonight's Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Game 7 between his Caps and the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden in New York City - unsurprisingly, he thinks it won't be the Broadway Blueshirts.
Despite Ovechkin's semi-guarantee, the game - which you can watch via the links provided below - must go on as they say and boy, oh, boy is it shaping up to be a doozie.
After racing out to a 3-1 series lead, the Capitals and the suddenly ice-cold Ovechkin have watched helplessly as the relentless Rangers clawed their way back in, pushing the best-of-seven series to a final NHL playoff showdown Wednesday night.
While one superstar, Ovechkin, has been nearly invisible during the series, another, Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, has quietly been going about his business.
Lundqvist, who stopped 42 pucks in Game 6, says his previous playoff experiences will aid him in tonight's effort.
"When you start the playoffs you have to see it happen, you have to see good things happen to you and your team, and then you have to go out there and work for it," Lundqvist said, per Dan Rosen of NHL.com. "It starts with believing. We were in a tough spot in this series and we believed we could force another game, and another game, and now we're here. It's a great team on the other side, they are going to come at us, and they showed it last game. We are going to have to play our best game if we want to win this one."
Lundqvist and the Rangers are 5-0 in Game 7s since 2012, but Ovechkin and the Caps won't go quietly.
"People go all through their life looking for great moments where you can define yourself or your team or what you did that year," Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. "This is another moment. We had that moment, a Game 7 in the first series, and here's another moment. These are things you go through."
If Ovi and Trotz are to push the Caps past the Rangers tonight, it will be on the Washington captain, thus far shut down by Rangers defensemen Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi, and the other Capitals stars to step up.
Ovechkin hasn't scored a goal in the past five games, though he has nabbed three points in six games. Niklas Backstrom hasn't scored a goal in nine games and offensive defenseman Mike Green has now gone 10 games without a point.
"I think right now it's not about the one person," Ovechkin said, via Katie Brown of NHL.com. "It's about the group of guys that's gonna be out there. Everybody can make a difference ... because we play in different positions, different lines, everybody can pull the line and be better."
You can watch the live stream of the game HERE and catch the radio broadcast HERE.
