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SPORTS Friday 26 april 2019

Hurricanes stun defending champion Capitals in 2OT in Game 7

By STEPHEN WHYNO with two minutes remaining
AP Hockey Writer in the third period.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Jus- “It’s just a reaction,” Mc-
tin Williams returned to the Ginn said. “I don’t know if it
building that was the scene had enough steam to cross
of his only Game 7 loss and the line, but I don’t think I
left the ice relieved and re- was taking that chance.”
deemed after knocking off In a weird series where the
his old friends and defend- home team won the first six
ing Stanley Cup champi- games, there were plenty
ons. of chances to end it before
The man who earned McGinn’s goal . Washing-
the “Mr. Game 7” moni- ton’s Jakub Vrana, who
ker shook Alex Ovechkin’s was demoted to the fourth
hand after the Carolina line by first-year coach
Hurricanes’ stunning 4-3 Todd Reirden, hit the post in
double-overtime victory the second overtime, and
over the Washington Capi- the Capitals couldn’t cash
tals and beamed with pride in on a power play for a
in his upstart team’s latest Hurricanes delay of game
triumph that added anoth- penalty.
er piece to one of the crazi- “Every opportunity missed is
est first rounds in recent NHL Carolina Hurricanes left wing Brock McGinn (23) celebrates his game-winning goal with right wing devastating, really,” Capi-
history. Each conference’s Justin Williams (14) and defenseman Brett Pesce (22), in double overtime of Game 7 of an NHL tals defenseman John Carl-
top seed, all four division hockey first-round playoff series against the Washington Capitals, Wednesday, April 24, 2019, in son said. “When you don’t
champions and the teams Washington. The Hurricanes won 4-3 in double overtime. do well, it is more than just
that met in last year’s Cup Associated Press we were up in the series or
Final are all out, and the the second overtime to losing streak and still finish- “It’s tough right now,” the game. It is everything. It
pesky Hurricanes are storm- send his teammates into a ing first after 82 games. But Backstrom said. “It’s tough. hurts.”
ing on to face the New wild celebration and the they missed an opportunity Double overtime. Tough Washington fell to 4-8 in
York Islanders in the second heavily favored Metro- to close out the Hurricanes one for us. We were up 3-1. Game 7 in the Ovechkin
round. politan Division champions in Game 6 on the road Looking back at that, we and Backstrom era and
“You can kick the snot out home early. Monday, coughed up a need to find a way to shut 5-12 all-time, including 3-9
of each other and look The Hurricanes outshot the lead in the seventh game them down there or keep at home. The Capitals had
each other in the eye and Capitals 18-6 in the over- and bowed out in the first them out of the score sheet the opportunity to face
say, ‘Man that was a great times, and it was clear round for the first time since there when we got a 3-1 former coach Barry Trotz’s
series, you really pushed Ovechkin, Nicklas Back- 2013. lead. We gave it to them.” Islanders in the second
us,’” Williams said. “We strom, Evgeny Kuznetsov It’s the first time in NHL his- In just as many ways, the round after they swept the
pushed each other.” and the big guns were tory all four division winners Hurricanes took it. Un- Penguins, but now the op-
Carolina pushed Washing- gassed after each surpass- were eliminated in the first daunted by an early defi- portunity belongs to the
ton out of the playoffs by ing 30 minutes of ice time. round. Unlike Presidents’ cit, they got second-period Hurricanes.
erasing a two-goal deficit “Both teams were (tired),” Trophy winning Tampa Bay, goals from Sebastian Aho “This is just another step,”
and dominating two over- said Ovechkin, who had which got swept, or West- and Teuvo Teravainen and said Williams, who is 8-1 in
time periods in the third- a series-high nine points. ern Conference top seed tied it early in the third on his career in Game 7 with
longest Game 7 in NHL his- “Players played a lot of Calgary that got bounced Jordan Staal’s third of the an NHL record 15 points.
tory. Unheralded forward minutes.” by Colorado in five games, series. Petr Mrazek finished “It’s wide open for us. It’s
Brock McGinn, who dived The Capitals played a lot of this was right there for the off an inconsistent round by wide open for every team.
to prevent a Capitals goal hockey over the past year Capitals with a series lead stopping 34 of 37 shots and There’s eight left and we’re
late in regulation, redi- in winning the first title in and a two-goal advan- got bailed out by McGinn going to keep pushing to
rected Williams’ shot past franchise history, enduring tage in Game 7 before it when he saved a would- see how good we could
Braden Holtby 11:05 into a midseason seven-game slipped away. be Capitals go-ahead goal be.”q
Canada’s Stanley Cup drought reaches 26 years

TORONTO (AP) — Many alongside the Calgary In 2016, not one of Can- and Tiger Woods was two of the last seven seasons,
current NHL players were Flames and Winnipeg Jets. ada’s seven teams even months away from winning including last year. Calgary
either not yet born or too The other four Canadian qualified for the playoffs. his third straight U.S. Junior entered the postseason as
young to remember the teams did not reach the What was life like the last Amateur Championship. the top team in the West-
last time a Canadian team postseason this year. time a Canadian team For the Maple Leafs, it was ern Conference. Winnipeg
hoisted the Stanley Cup. The inauspicious streak has won the Cup? Nokia was more heartbreak for a fran- had reached the West fi-
The drought now stands at been threatened a few the top manufacturer of chise that has failed to ad- nals a year ago. In the end,
26 years after all three Ca- times — Calgary, Edmon- mobile phones, personal vance to the second round the Canada curse lived
nadian teams were elimi- ton and Vancouver each computers were running of the playoffs since 2004 on. Calgary was dumped
nated in the opening round made it to Game 7 of a the Windows 3.1 operat- and has not won the Stan- by Colorado in five games
of the 2018-19 playoffs. Cup Final before being ing system, social media ley Cup since 1967. “It’s the after shutting out the Ava-
The Boston Bruins defeated eliminated, while Ottawa didn’t exist, “Unforgiven” same (awful) feeling as last lanche in the series opener.
Toronto 5-1 in Game 7 of also made it to a Final — had just won best picture year,” said Maple Leafs Winnipeg lost three times at
their Eastern Conference but this season will mark at the Academy Awards, winger Mitch Marner. The home in falling to rising St.
quarterfinal on Tuesday the eighth straight time two Janet Jackson’s “The Way Bruins have beaten Toronto Louis in six games. The Ma-
night, sending the Maple American teams will com- Love Goes” topped the in Game 7 in the opening ple Leafs led their series 3-2
Leafs into the offseason pete for the iconic trophy. Billboard Hot 100 chart round of the playoffs three before being ousted.q