The Washington Capitals may have blown a 3-1 series lead to the New York Rangers, but their late comeback attempt in Game 6 has their captain making bold predictions for Game 7.
New York led 4-1 at one point, but the Capitals roared back with two third-period goals on Sunday to almost complete a comeback and eliminate the Rangers. That performance made captain Alex Ovechkin guarantee his team would reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 1998.
Ovechkin: "We almost tie the game and the character of this group, it shows a lot. We’re going to come back and win the series."
— Alex Prewitt (@alex_prewitt) May 11, 2015
Ovechkin doubled down at the end. "We’re going to play our game and we’re going to come back and we’re going to play Montreal or Tampa."
— Alex Prewitt (@alex_prewitt) May 11, 2015
This is not the first time Ovechkin has made this sort of playoff prediction. When the Capitals faced a 3-0 deficit to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2011, Ovechkin claimed the series wasn't over and that his team would win. They didn't, and Washington was eliminated shortly thereafter. One gets the sense the Capitals have a better shot at validating their captain's faith this time around.