Carolina Hurricanes: Force Game 7 against the Capitals

Opportunities Were Created

Take a moment and enjoy the picture above. Drink it in. There is a lot to unpack there. Savoir it.

Okay, now take into consideration the effort it took to get to that moment. The eventual game winning goal. (Not according to Capitals fans, but we can get to that later.) Jordan Staal on the ice doing his customary celebration scream of the nine terrors. Brock McGinn, the first to see the puck in the net, skating around and jumping up and down. Justin Williams cheering his comrades on.

None of that happens without the hard work and dedication of the seconds and minutes that lead up to this goal. None of it happens without the fore-check that leads up this goal and the goal before that scored by the greatest finnish duet to ever grace the ice. Just look at the effort it took from Sebastian Aho to get Teuvo Teravainen the equalizing goal only two minutes into the second:

Beautiful is right. This is where everything changed for everyone in the building. The Washington Capitals fans will tell you otherwise (and we promise we will get to that), but it was in that moment, just like after Foegele goal, that all bets were off. There was nothing that this team cannot accomplish after scoring like that.

Even after playing stalemate hockey for the rest of the period and taking a tie into the third, Carolina was in charge. They controlled the play. Even after what would have been a magnificent goal by Justin Williams was called back to due to a high stick, the momentum didn’t shift the other way (put a feather into this statement right here for later.)

The third period started just like the second, with the Carolina Hurricanes coming on top and controlling the play on the ice. And just like that the first lead change of the entire series came off the magnificent goal from Jordan Staal pictured earlier. You know what’s even better than that picture? The video and John Forslund’s call:

If you do not get chills watching this, than I have no words for you. That was all the goals needed in this game. Even if Capitals fans and players disagree (I swear I will get to the no goal call on Ovechkin, just give me a minute) Justin Williams set the tone straight with a beautiful blind deflection past Braden Holtby‘s five hole that guaranteed a game 7.

Holtby scurried to the bench late in the third to allow an extra attacker and Dougie Hamilton took care of that too to put an exclamation point on the game and how the outcome would not be decided by the officials. No matter how bad they were.

“I’m going insane, Startin’ the hurricane, Releasin’ pain, Lettin’ you know, You can’t gain or maintain, Unless you say my name.” Well said LL Cool J, once again.