GAME SEVEN: Pens 6, Capitals 2 — I Think We All Saw This One Coming

Ridiculous. Awesome. Over. Next series, please.

Thoughts on the game that wasn’t a game:

— Fleury’s save on the Ovechkin breakaway was enormous (following some more of that Rob Scuderi Ovechkin-shutdown we keep hearing about), and definitely changed the complexion of the first period. However, I don’t share the optimism that this necessarily bears any impact on Fleury turning things around in the Conference Finals. No one’s ever doubted his ability to make spectacular saves, or even clutch saves; we worry about Fleury because you never know when he’ll just randomly let an untipped wrist shot in from anywhere at any time, and until he strings together multiple games where he doesn’t allow it to happen, I’ll have a renewed Fleury-nervousness going into every game.

— That being said, I don’t read too much into the Fleury giveaway that led to the Ovechkin wrap-around. Everyone was playing super lazily, and it likely wouldn’t have happened if everyone was more locked in (not an excuse, just an explanation). I received no fewer than four angry texts when he let up that goal, just to show you how forgiving my Pens-fan friends are even when they’re up by nineteen.

— ESPN’s Matthew Barnaby breaks down Fleury’s save on SportsCenter:

Huge save — maybe the biggest save of the game, cause this could have changed the whole…turning point.

It sure could have changed that turning point, Matt. It might have even altered the whole…momentum swing. And maybe the biggest save of the game; it was either that one or that Theodore one with seven minutes left in the third.

— Washington came out flatter than Elisabeth Hasselbeck’s perception of the earth (OHHH SNAPPP!!!! Break out the SNAP-ple!!! When the Pens win, the painful joke filter goes off…), but the brunt of this loss, fairly or unfairly, has to fall on Varlamov. He allowed 4 goals on 18 shots, and goals 2, 3, and 4 were all reasonably stoppable, and stoppong even two or one of them would’ve still kept the game within some realm of actual competition.

— When a team is excited to see Jose Theodore between the pipes, its season is over.

— Can we please stop talking about players’ “Game Seven” experience now, because it’s completely and utterly meaningless? The Capitals had more “Game Sevens played” on their roster because they frickin’ PLAYED ONE LAST SERIES, thus giving them a free 20 Game Sevens played to add to their numerical total. Does this mean they unlocked the secret, mystical Game Seven spirit because they beat the Rangers 2-1 in a game two weeks ago that was no more or less intense than any other Playoff game? Granted, Crosby and Malkin really looked lost out there, especially when they kept yelling “WHERE DO THEY PUT THE NETS IN GAME SEVEN?? WHAT ARE THE GAME SEVEN RULES???? I’VE NEVER PLAYED IN ON OF THESE BEFORE AND I’M SCAWWWWED!!!”

— Tyler Kennedy and Matt Cooke each managed a -1 plus/minus this game, which isn’t significant, but funny.

— Think fans at MSG or Wachovia would be cheering in the final five minutes of its team’s pitiful Game Seven chokefest, in honor of the tremendous season they accomplished despite the final performance? Definitely.

— If Mike Green ends up winning the Norris Trophy, it’ll be the bitterest after-the-season trophy acceptance since the year Dirk Nowitzki won the NBA MVP right after the #1 Mavericks were knocked out in the first round of the Playoffs.

— Is Crosby too talented to be labelled a “leader” by the media? If Mike Richards had duplicated his performance (8 G, 5 A) in winning a seven-game playoff series, he’d be the clutchiest clutch leader who ever clutchleadered.

— You know what would’ve just made this game totally absurd? Chris Kunitz on the scoresheet. Glad that didn’t happen, then I would’ve known the NHL was just kidding, and the real game was actually taking place tonight.

Tags: Capitals, Evgeni Malkin, Game Seven, Marc-Andre Fleury, Matt Cooke, Mike Green, Playoffs, Rob Scuderi, Sidney Crosby, Simeon Varlamov, Tyler Kennedy