Down 3-2 to the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Washington Capitals aren’t thinking about recent history, like how they haven’t lost back-to-back games since March. They’re not thinking about long-term history, like how this franchise is 2-9 in this situation.
And they’re certainly not thinking about Game 7.
“Two in a row. We have to win that to win the series, obviously. But we just have to win one game,” forward Brooks Laich said. “Prepare for Game 6, and then after that we’ll look at Game 7.”
But the NHL does have to think and look ahead, and it announced that Game 7 for the Caps and Rangers, if necessary, would be at 7:30 Saturday night. It would air on NBC Sports Network in the U.S. and on CBC and RDS in Canada.
The Caps and Rangers are the last teams playing in this round. The Los Angeles Kings and Phoenix Coyotes will meet in the Western Conference finals and the New Jersey Devils will face the winner of this series.
There were reports earlier in the day that the Eastern finals could start as early as Monday. If the Caps come back to beat New York, Game 1 would be at the Devils.
