SEVENTH HEAVEN

When there is a seventh game in a playoff series involving the New York Rangers at home, you may count on a victory. The Rangers come through in the clutch.

When there is a seventh game, you can rely on the Washington Capitals to be on the golf course two days hence. They do not win in Game 7. The only thing they clutch is their throats.

The Rangers completed a comeback from a 3-1 deficit in their best-of-seven series with the Capitals on Wednesday night with a 2-1 victory in overtime at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers are 7-0 in seventh games at the Garden. They advance to the Eastern Conference finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

This marked the third time in four years the Rangers and Caps had a series go to seven games. Care to hazard a guess as to the winner of those series? Yup. The Rangers won Game 7 at home in 2012 and on the road in 2013. A year ago they beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games after trailing 3-1 in the series. They’re now the only NHL team to rebound from 3-1 deficits in consecutive seasons.

The Caps have now lost five series in seven games where they had built a 3-1 lead and only needed that last victory to close out the opponent.

It was double heartbreak for D.C. sports fans. Shortly before the Caps swooned in OT, the Wizards lost 82-81 to the Atlanta Hawks when Al Horford scored with 1.9 seconds left. Horford’s winner erased Paul Pierce’s 3-point shot with 8.3 seconds remaining that had given the Wizards the lead. At least the Wizards are still alive, though down 3-2 in their series.

The Caps? Well …

“We’re learning from our history and we’re looking it right in the eye,” coach Barry Trotz said. “We went after this game. There was no nervousness in our part. We went after the New York Rangers in their own barn and almost pulled it off. I said to them all year, defeat is not your undertaker, it should be your teacher. And I’ll tell you what, we learned a lot….You’re going to see the Washington Capitals back here again.”

Is that a promise or a threat?
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .