GAME 7 HISTORY: LIGHTNING
The Lightning hold a 5-2 record in Game 7s including a 3-0 mark on home ice. They will contest a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference Final for the third time in the past four years, having defeated the Rangers 2-0 in 2015 and lost to the Penguins 2-1 in 2016. In fact, the Lightning have required all seven games in each of their five appearances in the Conference Finals.

* The Lightning roster has a combined 78 games of Game 7 experience, including six players with at least five career victories in the winner-take-all scenario: Anton Stralman (7-1), Ryan McDonagh (6-1), Dan Girardi (6-2), Chris Kunitz (6-3), Braydon Coburn (5-2) and Ryan Callahan (5-2). All have recorded Game 7 wins over the Capitals with other teams.

* Four Lightning players have tallied a game-winning goal in a Game 7: Coburn, Girardi, Kunitz and Alex Killorn.

* The Lightning won the franchise’s only championship with a 2-1 victory in Game 7 of the 2004 Stanley Cup Final against the Flames. In that contest, Ruslan Fedotenko – who tied for the team lead with 12 goals that postseason – scored both goals and captain Dave Andreychuk, now Tampa Bay’s Vice President of Corporate and Community Affairs, was the first to hoist the Stanley Cup.



GAME 7 HISTORY: CAPITALS
The Capitals hold a 4-11 record in Game 7s including a 1-3 mark on the road. Washington will play in its 11th Game 7 since the beginning of the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the most among all teams in that span.

* The Capitals roster has a combined 67 games of Game 7 experience with Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin set to make their 11th career appearance, one shy of Boston’s Zdeno Chara (12) for the most among active NHL players. Patrick Roy and Scott Stevens (13 apiece) have the most Game 7 appearances in NHL history.

* Ovechkin and Backstrom have played each of their 10 prior Game 7s together, the most Game 7 appearances as teammates in NHL history.

* Washington’s Evgeny Kuznetsov, who enters the contest on a nine-game point streak (6-8—14), tallied the game-winner in the Capitals' most recent Game 7 victory, a 2-1 decision over the Islanders in the 2015 First Round.



GAME 7 TRENDS
Of the 171 all-time Game 7s in the Stanley Cup Playoffs:

* The team that scores first is 127-44 (.743), including a 1-1 mark in 2018.

* Home teams own a 100-71 (.585) advantage, including a 1-1 record in 2018.

* Forty-one have required overtime (24.2%). Home teams have a 21-20 edge.



U.S. REGIONAL FINAL OF NHL GAMING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP AIRS TODAY
The U.S. Regional Final of the NHL Gaming World Championship airs today on Twitch.tv/NHL beginning at 2 p.m. ET. The winner and runner up will head to Las Vegas for the 2018 NHL Gaming World Championship Final on June 19. Tournament details, news and player bios can be found atNHL.com/Gaming.



QUICK CLICKS
· James Neal had confidence in Golden Knights from beginning (via Nick Cotsonika)
· VIDEO: NHL Tonight feature on Vegas’ Deryk Engelland
· Golden Knights earn praise from Lightning, Capitals (via Dan Rosen)
· Lou Lamoriello named Islanders president of hockey operations

the above information was provided by the NHL PR department