Fansided

Capitals finish off Lightning in Game 7: 3 takeaways

By Jeremy Lambert

TAMPA, FL - MAY 23: Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy #88 of the Tampa Bay Lightning gives up a goal Andre Burakovsky #65 of the Washington Capitals during Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Final during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amalie Arena on May 23, 2018 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mark LoMoglio/NHLI via Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL - MAY 23: Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy #88 of the Tampa Bay Lightning gives up a goal Andre Burakovsky #65 of the Washington Capitals during Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Final during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amalie Arena on May 23, 2018 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mark LoMoglio/NHLI via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 3
Next
TAMPA, FL – MAY 23: Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos (91) and Washington Capitals right wing T.J. Oshie (77) battle for the puck during the first period of the seventh game of the NHL Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Final between the Washington Capitals and the Tampa Bay Lightning on May 23, 2018, at Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL. (Photo by Roy K. Miller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL – MAY 23: Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos (91) and Washington Capitals right wing T.J. Oshie (77) battle for the puck during the first period of the seventh game of the NHL Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Final between the Washington Capitals and the Tampa Bay Lightning on May 23, 2018, at Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL. (Photo by Roy K. Miller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

1. Refs let them play

Power play opportunities became rare the longer this series went. In the final three games, the two teams combined for six power plays. Even my basic level of math knows that’s one power player per team in the last three games. No, I’m not counting the Washington power play in the final seconds of Game 7 because it didn’t matter.

That’s exactly what each team got in Game 7. The Capitals went to the man advantage less than a minute after Ovechkin’s goal, but failed to silence the Tampa faithful by taking a 2-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.

Tampa Bay didn’t get a power play until the opening minutes of the third period. The Lightning power play, which had been so good early in the series, failed to strike in the last two games. Sure, they didn’t get the opportunities they were getting in the first four games, but the Capitals penalty kill also tightened up.

The referees missed calls in the final three games. None more blatant than Cedric Paquette’s board on Brooks Orpik in Game 7. But isn’t this what we want when the games matter? For the referees to swallow their whistles and see who the better team is?

NEXT: 10 reasons Stanley Cup Playoffs are better than NBA Playoffs

The refs let the players decide this series, which was 2-2 after four. We crucify referees for making games about them. They were invisible in the final 180 minutes of this series. Almost as invisible as the Tampa Bay offense.

For more from the NHL playoffs, make sure to follow FanSided and stay tuned to our NHL hub for all the latest news and results.

Home/NHL Playoffs