Having written that, Game Seven was, in many ways, one of the Lightning's best five-on-five performances in the series. At least for most of the first 40 minutes. They used their speed through the neutral zone to effectively attack the Caps. Their forecheck forced Washington into d-zone turnovers and yielded extended offensive zone shifts. By exhibiting more of a shooting mentality than in earlier games, they put more pucks on net and generated a number of good scoring chances. So why couldn't they convert on any of them?
One reason was the play of Braden Holtby. He finished the series by posting back-to-back shutouts and, after giving up Ryan Callahan's goal in the opening minute of the second period in Game Five, didn't allow a goal in essentially eight periods. In Game Seven, he dealt with some tough shots in the first two periods and fought them off. Many of these initial saves, however, led to juicy rebounds. So the second reason why the Lightning didn't score in Game Seven was how well the Capitals defenders tied up Lightning forwards when those rebounds were loose. The Lightning had very few second chance opportunities. Then there was the third reason - puck luck. The Lightning didn't have any of it in Game Seven. They hit two posts and just missed on several open chances, including Yanni Gourde's open net look in the second period when the score was still 1-0.
At the other end, the Capitals were efficient in converting on their scoring chances. Game Seven was the only game in the series in which the Capitals were outshot. The Lightning also owned a big advantage in shot attempts. But the Caps cashed in on three of their looks. Alex Ovechkin's blast from the left point opened the scoring and then Andre Burakovsky finished two in-alone chances in the second.
Once they grabbed a multi-goal lead - and especially after they made it 3-0 - the Capitals went into their smothering defensive structure. In the third period, the Lightning had a more difficult time moving the puck through the neutral zone and getting shots through to Holtby. It was a quiet third period for the Lightning as the Capitals punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final.
Certainly, this was a disappointing end to what was an otherwise incredible season for the Lightning. I'll post an overall look back at the 2017-18 campaign next week.
Lightning Radio Big Moment of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
Burakovsky's goal to make the score 2-0.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
1. Braden Holtby - Capitals. 29-save shutout.
2. Andre Burakovsky - Capitals. Two goals.
3. Alex Killorn - Lightning. Four shots.
