Alex Ovechkin was prepared to make this his final answer Sunday night, to stand up and leave the Verizon Center locker room after getting the last word, so he doubled down on his confidence. He expressed an unwavering assurance that the Washington Capitals would win Game 7 over the New York Rangers and advance into the Eastern Conference semifinals, but not in a braggadocios wave of chest-puffery. Rather, the captain spoke in quiet confidence.
“We’re going to come back and win the series,” he said early into the scrum.
“We’re going to play our game and we’re going to come back and we’re going to play Montreal or Tampa,” he said at the end.