TORONTO — With a chance to polish off the Toronto Maple Leafs and clinch the best-of-seven playoff series, Washington Capitals coach Barry Trotz had a message for his team before the game Sunday night.
“You get an opportunity to push someone off a cliff, you need to push them off if you can,” Trotz said.
Pushing Toronto to the precipice hadn’t been easy, and the final shove was no different. But in the fifth overtime in six games, Capitals forward Marcus Johansson scored his second goal of the game and sent Toronto tumbling down yelling ‘Geronimo!’
The Capitals, who were 1-5 in Game 6’s where they led a series 3-2 and 5-15 in potential series-winners in playoff best-of-seven series entering the game, will play the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round.