Bruins-Capitals Game 7 Live Blog: Capitals Score 2:57 Into OT To End Boston's Season
Overtime, 17:03, 2-1 Capitals: That ended quickly. Mike Knuble blocked a Benoit Pouliot dump-in and carried the puck up the ice on a 2-on-1. Thomas stopped the initial shot but Joel Ward banged home the rebound.
Overtime, 18:46, 1-1: The Bruins had a doorstep chance at an open net but missed just wide. B's just iced the puck so a faceoff is coming in their end.
Overtime, 20:00, 1-1: We're under way. This game could end in a flash. As a reminder, there aer no TV timeouts in overtime, so my updates will be as extensive as possible, given the time constraints.
End Of Regulation, 1-1: Go and get yourself some food and drinks, because we're heading to sudden death overtime in Game 7.
There's not much to say at this point. An entire season will come down to one play. A team's season will end on a bad bounce. There's nothing like this in sports. So take some deep breaths during this intermission, because you'll need some air when the puck drops for OT.
Third period, 20.3 seconds, 1-1: That power play went just like most of the B's power plays have this series: poorly.
The best chance came when Brian Rolston crossed the blue line and fired on net and followed up on his own rebound, but alas, the B's have nothing to show for it.
Third period, 2:26, 1-1: You pretty much have to tackle someone to get a penalty with 2:26 left in Game 7. Jason Chimera just pretty much tackled someone.
The B's head on the much-maligned power play with a chance to make up for a series' worth of struggles. All 17,565 are on their feet.
Third period, 3:58, 1-1: And ... exhale. The Bruins kill off the Caps' power play, but only due to Dennis Seidenberg's diving block of an Ovechkin blast from close range. The puck was bound for the back of the net, but Seidenberg's effort kept this game scoreless and the season still alive.
The penalty kill ended with a 2-on-1 Bruins rush with Paille and Campbell, but the cross-ice pass was broken up.
Regardless, this was the final TV timeout of the game, so strap in. We're either getting a dramatic finish now or we're heading to overtime.
Third period, 9:00, 1-1: Hold your breath, Bruins fans. The Capitals are on the power play.
Bergeron goes to the box for hooking. Biggest kill of the year is on the way for Boston.
Third period, 9:45, 1-1: The game takes another break for a TV timeout, and we're left with just 9:45 left in regulation. For the sake of hearts across New England and in this building, I hope it doesn't go to overtime. I think people have been put through enough stress this series. At the same time, overtime of a Game 7 is only the greatest thing in sports, so to witness that would be something special.
Of course, that's a long way away. We've got 9:45 to sort it all out.
Third period, 13:00, 1-1: Dennis Seidenberg has scored a couple of times as a Bruin from the neutral zone, and he just made his best attempt to catch Holtby cheating there. Seidenberg carried the puck across the red line and looked to be firing a dump-in around the boards. He adjusted his body, though, and fired on net. Holtby had only started to lean toward the corner, so he recovered in time to get either his blocker or right shoulder on it.
With a 27-15 shot advantage, the Bruins are clearly the team generating more offense right now. We learned in Game 1 though that the Capitals are just fine with playing that way, looking to catch one bounce to get one rush to score one goal on one shot.
Third period, 16:25, 1-1: That power play was bad, even by the Bruins' standard of bad power plays. They got nothing out of it.
Third period, 18:42, 1-1: Roman Hamrlik heads to the box for holding Milan Lucic's stick. Big oppotunity on the way for Boston.
Third period, 20:00, 1-1: The puck is dropped. Game on.
End Second, 1-1: The B's and Caps head back to their dressing rooms tied at one. Their play over the next 20 minutes will send one team to the next round and one team home for the summer. Which will it be?
Second Period, 1-1, 2:08: Great follow-up shift from Seguin, as he battles through some rough stuff off a faceoff and flies to a loose puck in the offensive end. The kid is feeling it now.
In the physicality department, we're seeing scrums after almost every whistle now, something lacking dearly in the first. Marchand just got in Mike Green's face after the latter gave Patrice Bergeron a healthy shove for taking a wack at a puck in Holtby's pads.
In other words: It's looking like a Game 7.
Second Period, 1-1, 5:33: Tyler Seguin buries a puck that squirted through Holtby after a Boychuk bomb, and this one is tied.
It won't make Seguin's highlight reel, but it was a gritty, gutty goal, as he muscled his way through two bodies to bury the loose puck in the crease.
The building's alive once more and we've got a whole new game.
Second period, 6:27, 1-0 Capitals: That was quite the stretch of uninterrupted hockey, but there's not too much to report. Brian Rolston did have an open net staring him in the face, but he wasn't able to get the right angle to the puck to bury it.
The Caps had some solid sustained pressure but were unable to get any quality scoring chances.
There was one point when the referee at center ice appeared to call a penalty on the Capitals when the puck was in the Bruins' end, but after a brief meeting, there was no penalty called and they dropped the puck at center ice. I'm not sure what happened there.
Second period, 12:41, 1-0 Capitals: The home crowd wanted a penalty called when Chris Kelly fell to the ice on a 2-on-2 rush, but to me, it looked like Kelly was diving for the puck and seemed like a good non-call. A few seconds later though, John Carlson faked taking a stick to the face, and the refs passed on the opportunity to send him to the box for embellishing.
The B's lead in shots 15-8, but aside from that Krejci tip earlier in the period, they haven't gotten a great chance this period.
Second period, 15:23, 1-0 Capitals: Holtby just turned away the best Boston chance of the night, a David Krejci doorstep redirect of a Brad Marchand feed. Holtby was in the right position to make the save, though even he didn't know exactly where the puck was.
Second period, 20:00, 1-0 Capitals: The second period is under way with the Caps holding their 1-0 lead. We'll see if the Bruins can cure some of their issues offensively. They did generate some good chances, but they looked a little discombobulated and unable to generate consistence offense.
End First, 1-0 Capitals: The Bruins' power play looked like ... the Bruins' power play. Not a lot of puck possession, a lot of chasing, and just one shot from about 35 feet is all we saw. They'll have the advantage for just 10 seconds to start the second.
The crowd's energy was certainly impacted by the Washington goal, and a lot of fans voiced some displeasure with the power play's ineffectiveness late in the first.
First period, 2:00, 1-0 Capitals: You can get away with a lot of things in a Game 7, but Jeff Schultz just got penalized for a pretty blatant trip of Marchand in the open ice. The struggling B's power play takes the ice with 1:50 left in the first.
First period, 4:24, 1-0 Capitals: That was an interesting scene, as a pigpile of bodies stacked up between the two teams' benches. I didn't see how it started or who was at the bottom of it from my perspective, but it was a white jersey lying on the ice when the dust cleared.
Play never did stop, as we're through 15 minutes still without any penalties.
First period, 8:37, 1-0 Capitals: That'll silence the crowd.
John Carlson fires a wrister from the blue line, and Matt Hendricks, all alone in front, tips it in past Thomas. Credit Carlson for his patience to wait for a lane to open up before letting that one fly.
First period, 9:58, 0-0: Not to belabor a point, but this place is truly as loud as a venue can get. I fear what will happen if the B's score first -- the roof may blow off.
I've noticed a couple potential penalties -- a trip of Milan Lucic and a hook of Joel Ward -- that have gone uncalled, which is exactly what you want to see in a Game 7. That's especially true if you're the Bruins.
Shots at 6-2 in favor of the Bruins right now. Saw some great effort from the whole team to block shots and dive to break up passes on the last Capitals possession in the B's end -- exactly what you'd expect in a Game 7.
First period, 14:32, 0-0: The B's have found their footing, getting four shots in the past three minutes and controlling the puck for much of that time.
Their best chance came on a Mike Mottau bid from the blue line. He was looking for a redirect in front that never came, but it's exactly how the Bruins will be looking to beat Braden Holtby tonight.
First period, 17:12, 0-0: Tim Thomas has the only save of the night thus far, coming far out of his crease. That could mean the goaltender is feeling awfully confident.
We also saw the first big collision of the night between Alex Ovechkin and Dennis Seidenberg. I don't expect it to be the last.
First period, 20:00: Marchand, Peverley and Bergeron (at wing) along with Ference and Boychuk take the ice first for Boston, and we're under way.
7:37 p.m.: I have to tell you, I've been to the Garden many times, but I don't think I've ever heard it as loud as it has been for the past five minutes. The fans and the atmosphere are going to have an impact in this one.
The B's and Caps just took the ice, and we're only a national anthem away from puck drop.
7:14 p.m.: We're just minutes from puck drop here at the Garden. The B's are finishing their warmups after coming out to "Coming Home" by Diddy.
5 p.m.: It's finally time for Game 7.
After an excruciating two-day wait in Boston, we're finally ready for hockey, with the Bruins and Capitals facing off for Game 7 tonight at the TD Garden.
It's already been the closest series in NHL history, with all six games being decided by one goal, so we expect nothing different for this one.
Patrice Bergeron is expected to play, but he didn't take any faceoffs during the morning skate. That indicates he could once again stay away from the faceoff dot as he deals with an undisclosed injury.
I'll have live updates all night from the Garden, from the lines in pregame warmups until the final score, so check back routinely throughout the game.
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