What's at stake: The usual exhilaration and agony going to the winners and losers of a Game 7 playoff series. The Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning, tied 3-3 in the Eastern Conference finals, meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Tampa, Fla. The winner goes on to face the stunning expansion Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final.
The series so far: The Capitals easily won Games 1 and 2 in Tampa, but the series was far from over. The Lightning struck back to win three consecutive games to push Washington to the brink of elimination. The Capitals responded with a 3-0 victory in Game 6, with goalie Braden Holtby making 24 saves for his first shutout of the season.
Statistically speaking: Washington center Evgeny Kuznetsov leads all players in postseason scoring with 23 points (11 goals), followed by teammate Alex Ovechkin with 21 points. Tampa Bay's top producer has been winger Nikita Kucherov with 17 points (seven goals).
In the nets: Holtby has an 11-6 postseason record after his Game 6 shutout, with a 2.16 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage. The Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy is 11-5 with a 2.55 GAA and a .920 save percentage.
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