NHL Playoffs 2015: Alex Ovechkin guarantees Game 7 victory

Washington Capitals fans can’t be feeling too confident at this point, but their star forward Alex Ovechkin is.

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For all his regular season success, Washington Capitals star forward Alex Ovechkin has never been part of a deep playoff run. The Capitals have never made it past the conference semifinals stage since Ovechkin joined in 2005, and have only made it to the conference finals twice in their history.

With an improved team around him, Ovechkin is confident that this is the year he can finally lead the Capitals to a title. So much so that he guaranteed a victory in Game 7 of Washington’s second round clash with the New York Rangers, via USA Today Sports.

"“We’re going to come back and win the series. We’re going to play our game, and we’re going to come back and we’re going to play Montreal or Tampa.”"

You can’t fault Ovechkin for being confident — it’s not like he was going to say he expects the Capitals to lose. Still, recent history doesn’t seem to be on Washington’s side.

The Capitals have been eliminated by the Rangers in seven games the last two times they have qualified for the postseason, dating back to 2011-12. Overall, Washington has lost three straight conference semifinals, all in Game 7 and all with Ovechkin leading the team.

Add in the fact that this would be the 10th time in franchise history the Capitals would lose a series after holding a two game lead, and it’s understandable that the Washington faithful would be a little shaky.

None of that is too relevant to this year, and the Capitals face a very tall task. The Rangers were the best team in the NHL during the regular season, Henrik Lundqvist is making highlight reel saves on a consistent basis again, and Madison Square Garden will be rocking on Wednesday night.

Still, all of that goes out the window in Game 7, which are typically coin flips. Washington has largely played well against the heavily favored Rangers, losing the last two games by one goal apiece. Even in the Game 6 defeat on Sunday, the Capitals had an extended period of constant pressure in the third period, with New York getting very few attacking chances.

Ovechkin (who hasn’t scored since Game 2) has plenty of help, with Joel Ward and Evgeny Kuznetsov playing well. The key will be goaltender Braden Holtby, who has by and large been the best goaltender in the NHL during the postseason but gave up four goals in Game 6.

Unfortunately for Ovechkin, a loss tomorrow would be very bad for his public perception, and the “guarantee” wouldn’t help matters. Still, this is the best chance he’s had to reach a conference finals with the Capitals.

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