Here. This spot right here is the closest the Washington Capitals have been to a championship in two decades. The problem is they’ve been in this spot for a week now. Since winning Game Two in Florida, the Caps have dropped three in a row to the Tampa Bay Lightning and are now one loss away from elimination.

They’ve gotta win at home, tonight at 8 PM, to keep their season and our hopes alive. They’ve just gotta.

The final regular season stats:

Record	54-23-5	49-26-7
Shot Attempt %	52.3%	48.3%
PDO	102.1	101.4
Power Play	23.9%	22.5%
Penalty Kill	76.1%	80.3%

Projected Lines

This is a good look.

Ovechkin – Kuznetsov – Wilson
Vrana – Backstrom – Oshie
Burakovsky – Eller – Connolly
Stephenson – Beagle – DSP

Kempny – Carlson
Orlov – Niskanen
Orpik – Djoos

Holtby

Momentum

The line is shot attempts during 5-on-5 play. Except for the end of Game Four and the beginning of Game Five, this series has belonged to Washington. That applies to shots, scoring chances, goals, but not high-danger chances.

There, Tampa has had the edge. That red blob low at the right side? That’s Braden Holtby getting abused. The main defenders failing to defend Holtby surprised me: It’s Carlson and Kempny.

Goaltending will decide this series, and the Caps crew need to make their goalie’s life just a bit easier.

Storylines

• A guarantee? Big talk from Big Game Ovi.
• Lines: Jakub Vrana in the top six, Andre Burakovsky on the third line, Alex Chiasson out.
• Ian spoke with Mike Knuble before our chance to drink some Natty Bohs at the Keys game got rained out.
• Ex-Caps Nate Schmidt and George McPhee are going to the Finals.
• Uber is funding the Metro staying open late. Yes, I have Uber opinions. No, I don’t have time to share them right now.

Now For Something Completely Different

Everyone take the time out of your day to please watch this pic.twitter.com/RtUsNpV3Ef

— Gabrielle Geno (@GabbyGeno) May 16, 2018

Go Caps.

Full Coverage of Game Six

Headline photo: Mike Ehrmann