PITTSBURGH -- Did anyone really expect this to end any other way?
Yes, it will be seventh heaven Wednesday night, the culmination of an epic hockey tale that isn't done yet thanks to the Washington Capitals' 5-4 overtime win tonight at Mellon Arena.
From the stars of the show -- Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby and the Caps' Alex Ovechkin -- to the coaches and bit players, few would have expected less.
"I think it's going to be a great game," said Ovechkin, who leapt into the celebration 6:22 into overtime after David Steckel deflected the game winner past Pens goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.
"I think that's what the league wanted, us and Pittsburgh to play seven games. The fans probably wanted it to."
The fans certainly haven't been left wanting in a spellbinding series that has now seen half of its six games go to overtime.
Unlike the first two, in which Pittsburgh won off pucks that bounded off Caps players, this time Washington got the bounce.
It started when Steckel won a faceoff in the Pens' zone, in part due to the shattered shaft of his counterpart, Max Talbot. Steckel then headed to the front of the net where he deflected a point shot from Brooks Laich to send this series to its inevitable conclusion.
"It's everything it's been made up to be," said Crosby, who forced overtime when he scored with just 4:18 remaining in regulation on a brilliant individual effort. "We would have loved to finish it off tonight but let's just say we're all not surprised it's going to Game 7."
As much as so many others have stepped up -- Evgeni Malkin for the Penguins the previous two games and Viktor Kozlov with a pair of goals for the Caps tonight -- it's impossible to take your eyes and attention off the two leading men.
Crosby had a goal and an assist last night giving him 18 points in the post season as he continued to drive to the net and vex Caps defenders with his subtle touch.
Ovechkin had three assists to move to 20 and the playoff scoring lead. That's five points combined for the two protagonists who have somehow outperformed the hype heaped on them prior to the series.
"They're incredible, both of them," Caps coach Bruce Boudreau said. "They play at a level that other people can't attain because they're that much more superior. I think if I wasn't behind the bench I would enjoy watching them.
"I think a lot of people will want to see Game 7."
The twist and turns last night, like the series at large, were enthralling. Pittsburgh had an 18--5 edge in shots but only a 1-0 margin at the first intermission. Then the lead would change four more times with Steckel's OT winner.
"The ebbs and flows were quite amazing," Boudreau said. "Pittsburgh wanted to beat us pretty badly in the first period. I think they just wanted to come in and blow us out."
But after that 1-0 opening period, Washington scored the next two before the Penguins responded with a pair of their own. So at 4:40 into the third period, Pittsburgh had a 3-2 lead and could taste a second consecutive trip to the conference final.
That would have been the easy way to finish off this story, though. There were still three more goals to be scored, including Crosby's late one, it was on to overtime.
"It's hard not to watch what's happening and watch it unfold," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said. "Great players making big plays, teams answering and grabbing momentum.
"It's easy to see the quality of the game, the quality of the players and the quality of the storyline."
And who out there can't wait to see how it concludes?
