Insider Report: Game 7 Preview

The NHL got its dream matchup between the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals and the NHL got its dream series after David Steckel scored 6:22 into overtime to force a game 7 in Washington, Wednesday night. With the series tied at 3-3, momentum has shifted to the Capitals.

Will the Capitals hold serve at home, or will Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins advance to their second consecutive Eastern Conference Finals?

Sidney Crosby has been phenomenal against the Capitals, establishing himself as the games most complete player. Crosby has matched the hype and has 6 goals in the series matching his total for the entire 2008 playoffs.

Evgeni Malkin has had his moments putting on a dominant performance in game 3 and scoring the OT winner in game 5. Elite players elevate their play in key situations. Crosby and Malkin will be counted on to play at a super star level in game 7.

For Pittsburgh, what fueled their victories in games 4 & 5, was secondary scoring. Ruslan Fedotenko, Jordan Staal, Matt Cooke, and Max Talbot all found the back of the net. Whichever team gets the secondary scoring tonight will prevail.

The Penguins hold a significant advantage in shots, outshooting the Capitals 226 – 159 through the first 6 games of the series. After clogging the middle and keeping the Rangers to the outside in their first round series, the Capitals have not had any success in limiting the Penguins ability to get pucks on the net. That will likely continue tonight.

5-on-5 the Penguins have been the better team and they have to get more traffic in front of Simeon Varlamov who has been the difference maker in the series.

The Capitals do not get a lot of shots to the net but they pick their spots and are similar to the talented Penguins teams of the early to mid 1990’s.