What makes a playoff series great?
Controversy? Great goals? Questionable officiating? Two of the rowdiest rinks in the National Hockey League?
If you selected any of the above, you've got the second-round series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals, two teams loaded with more star power than the Andromeda Galaxy caged into one rink for seven games. National play-by-play legend Mike Doc Emrick put it best when he said it's beautiful chaos.
Now, with the series tied at three games apiece, it comes down to home-ice advantage.
The Penguins took it away from the Philadelphia Flyers on the final day of the season, guaranteeing they would have the advantage in the first-round series between the Pennsylvania rivals. Washington held steady as the East's second seed for most of the 82-game schedule and holds the upper hand against the Penguins.
Verizon Center, Game 7, Penguins-Capitals.
Also known as Sidney Crosby vs. Alex Ovechkin, right?
Sort of.
Sid the Kid and the Great 8 exchanged pyrotechnic hat tricks in Game 2 of the series, presumably setting the stage for a supernova showdown between the game's two biggest stars.
But it's been a sent-from-heaven goalie in Simeon Varlamov, a resurgent Evgeni Malkin and an out-of-left-field appearance from Ruslan Fedotenko that have taken headlines.
Varlamov stymied the New York Rangers in Game 1 of their first-round series. He looked to continue his winning pattern after two wins to open the series against Pittsburgh. But the Penguins applied the pressure and made him look pedestrian in games 3, 4 and 5.
Yet it was Monday night's Game 6 that sent a reverberating boom through the hockey world.
The Penguins were in the driver's seat. They needed one more win (that would be their fourth straight in the series) to put the Capitals away and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second consecutive year.
Max Talbot's broken stick off of a faceoff in overtime, however, allowed Dave Steckel body position in front of goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. He tipped Brooks Laich's shot in to send the series to Game 7.
And this, hockey fans, is where it will be decided.
Many have hyped this rivalry in the past year, but it really wasn't very hostile until this playoff meeting. The Capitals usually won in D.C., and the Penguins did the same in Pittsburgh. Now that they have exchanged pleasantries on each other's ice, this matchup is developing into something that is borderline explicit.
Capitals' fans will be rocking their red, and Penguins' fans will be waving their white towels.
Talk all you want about momentum in this series - there is no such thing. More often than not, the team that has scored first loses. Without a doubt, the Capitals are riding high going back to the nation's capital for Game 7, but the Penguins can quickly erase any momentum.
And the Penguins have recent history on their side, too: they clinched their first-round series on the road in Philadelphia. They also won their last game (Game 5) in the Verizon Center.
Emrick was right - it is definitely chaos. And it is a beautiful thing for hockey.
Rob Mixer is a senior studying journalism and covers softball for The Post. If you are a Penguins' fan who doesn't believe in momentum (or one of those rare Capitals fans), send him an e-mail at rm234405@ohiou.edu.
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Rob Mixer
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Pittsburgh Penguin Hal Gill falls onto Washington Capitals
