Here's looking at you, Henrik Lundqvist: Beat the Washington Capitals, or there's no tomorrow for the New York Rangers.
Lundqvist sees victory. It's part of his preparation strategy. His focus: Wednesday's 7:30 p.m. ET faceoff at Madison Square Garden. TV: NBC Sports Network, CBC, TVA Sports.
MORE: Rangers out to keep streak alive | Linemakers know the favorite | Still seeking first Cup
"You have to see it happen," Lundqvist told Newsday on Tuesday. "You have to see good things happen to yourself and your team and then you have to go out there and work for it. It starts with believing and I think when we were in a tough spot this series, we believed that we could force another game and another game and now we're here."
Believe this: The Rangers were down 3-1 in the series before pushing Alex Ovechkin's Caps to Game 7. Momentum, home ice and history are on the Rangers' side.
Why?
Henrik Lundqvist has won an NHL-record 5 consecutive Game 7s & he has allowed 1 goal or less in each of those outings. #NYR #NYRvsWSH
— David Strehle (@DStrehleTFP) May 13, 2015#NYR are 9-3 in playoffs over past three years when Derick Brassard scores a goal. Quietly leads team w/8 points this postseason. #XFactor
— Pete Jensen (@NHLJensen) May 13, 2015Elias: @ChrisKreider was 1st in #NYR history to score in both 1st and last min. of a single period in a playoff game. pic.twitter.com/yDWyKPrZNP
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) May 11, 2015Lundqvist has done the job. #NYR PK has done the job. Kreider has scored the goals. It's time for Nash, St. Louis, Yandle to step up
— Pat Leonard (@PLeonardNYDN) May 11, 2015A guarantee. A King. A 50 goal scorer. A Game 7. http://t.co/84NScSRInp https://t.co/wv2ZVh1LCC
— Sports on Earth (@SportsonEarth) May 13, 2015On the other hand, there's Ovechkin's statement of confidence.
Ovechkin stands by guarantee, doesn’t ‘care what everybody thinks’ http://t.co/hlJxv8F3hd
— NBC ProHockeyTalk (@ProHockeyTalk) May 12, 2015Capitals coach Barry Trotz on Ovechkin guarantee: "What do you expect a player to say? I love that." #WSH #NYR
— Katie Strang (@KatieStrangESPN) May 11, 2015Game 7: Capitals' Alex Ovechkin must find way to beat Rangers' Henrik Lundqvist http://t.co/NJY0mScPHG
— MLive Sports (@MLiveSports) May 13, 2015Will it be the Rangers or the Capitals against the Tampa Bay Lightning for the Eastern Conference's berth in the Stanley Cup finals? That's why Game 7 is the best event in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
How we got here
April 30: Capitals 2, Rangers 1
May 2: Rangers 3, Capitals 2
May 4: Capitals 1, Rangers 0
May 6: Capitals 2, Rangers 1
May 8: Rangers 2, Capitals 1, OT
May 10: Rangers 4, Capitals 3
May 13: 7:30 p.m. at Rangers; NBCSN