Canadiens upset Capitals in game 7
It wasn’t supposed to end this way, not for the two-time NHL MVP, not this time, but for Alexander Ovechkin it has and this time the embarrassment is at an all-time high.
This was the year, the year in which the city of Washington actually had a sporting team who they could be proud of, instead it turned out to be a year they would rather forget.
Losing to the Montreal Canadiens in seven games is one of the biggest upsets in NHL history, especially considering they were 3-1 up and had home ice advantage. With Ovechkin, Alexander Semin and Nicklas Backstrom the Capitals should have easily had enough offense to beat Montreal, or so we thought.
In the last three games they only managed to score three goals, this from a team that dominated the regular season scoring 318 goals in 82 games.
"I'm in shock right now. I don't know what to say. It was great going up 3-1 in the series. But it's only one step. We didn't do it,” Ovechkin said after the game.
The Capitals owned the best home record in the NHL during the regular season but lost games one, five and seven at home.
The Canadiens blocked 41 shots in game seven and 131 in games five-seven, ultimately resulting in their historic win. Coming from 3-1 down, Montreal became the first team to do so since the NHL changed to its current format.
"Before the series started, no one gave us a chance to win, not even one game, we proved [to] them they were wrong,” Canadiens goaltender Jaroslav Halak said after the win.
And if Halak continues to perform like superman?
"If that goalie can play the same way as he played the last three games," Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said, "anything can happen."
And with the top two seeds in the east already dumped out, indeed anything can happen, but for Washington something needs to happen and that something needs to happen soon.
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