* Per Elias, Kuznetsov – who also powered the Capitals to a victory with 2-1—3 in Game 5 – became the first rookie in franchise history to record a series-clinching goal in a Game 7. The last rookie to do so for any team: Adam Henrique, who scored at 3:47 of double-overtime to lift the Devils past the Panthers in the 2012 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

* Elias also says that Kuznetsov and Henrique are two of the six rookies in Stanley Cup Playoffs history who have registered the winning goal in a Game 7 decided by a one-goal margin. The others: Maple Leafs forward Gerry Ehman (1959 SF at BOS), Canadiens forward Claude Lemieux (1986 DF vs. HFD), Flames forward Perry Berezan (1986 DF at EDM) and Stars forward Roman Lyashenko (2000 CF vs. COL).

* Ward opened the scoring at 18:35 of the second period. He has 12-18—30 in 46 career playoff appearances, including 2-0—2 in four Game 7s (2-2).

* Braden Holtby made 10 saves to finish the series with a 1.63 goals-against average and .943 save percentage. He allowed two or fewer goals in five of his six appearances.

* Alex Ovechkin – who was mic’d up during the game and in the handshake line – collected one assist, giving him 2-3—5 in eight career Game 7s (3-5).

* The Capitals held the Islanders without a power-play goal in the seven-game series, going 14-for-14 on the penalty kill. Their penalty kill ranked 14th in the NHL during the regular season, at 81.2%.

* The Capitals will face the Rangers in the Second Round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs. This marks the ninth postseason meeting between these teams and fifth in the past seven seasons; they have split their eight previous matchups.

* ICYMI: Click here to watch the Capitals’ postgame celebration following their series-clinching victory.

GAME 7 TRENDS
* Home teams improved to 92-65 (.586) all-time in Game 7s in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

* The club that scores first improved to 116-41 (.739) all-time in Game 7s in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

2015 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS BRACKET CHALLENGE
Among the more than 800,000 entries for the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket Challenge powered by Samsung, 60% picked the Capitals to win their series against the Islanders – just 18.9% selected them to win in seven games.

JOHNSON (AGAIN) SCORES TWICE TO HELP LIGHTNING FORCE GAME 7
Tyler Johnson (2-0—2) recorded his third multi-goal game of the series, including the decisive tally, to help the Lightning force a Game 7 against the Red Wings.

* The Lightning improved to 7-6 all-time in elimination games. They last faced a 3-2 series deficit with a road contest in Game 6 in the 2004 Stanley Cup Final, which they ultimately won in seven games (vs. CGY).

* Johnson also posted multi-goal performances in the Lightning’s two other wins in this series – Games 2 (2-0—2) and 4 (2-1—3). Via Elias, he became the first player in franchise history to register three multi-goal games in one playoff series. The last time any player accomplished that feat: the 2008 Conference Semifinals, when Flyers forward R.J. Umberger (vs. MTL) and Red Wings forward Johan Franzen (vs. COL) both did so.

* In fact, Elias says only two other players in Lightning history have recorded three multi-goal games in one playoff year – Vincent Lecavalier and Brad Richards both did so during the team’s run to the Stanley Cup in 2004 (23 GP).

* Johnson’s six goals in the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs share first in the NHL (w/Vladimir Tarasenko). Elias notes that his six goals also equal a single-series franchise record. Ruslan Fedotenko set that mark with six goals in the 2004 Eastern Conference Final vs. PHI (7 GP).

* Nikita Kucherov (0-3—3) established single-game playoff highs in assists and points.Jason Garrison, Alex Killorn and Cedric Paquette supplied the other goals. ICYMI: Garrison was mic’d up when he scored in the first period.

* Ben Bishop made 22 saves to improve to 3-3 in the postseason (2.18 GAA, .904 SV%). He has allowed two or fewer goals in four of the six games during the series.

* The team that has scored first has won eight of the past nine meetings between the Lightning and Red Wings (regular season and playoffs).

NHL ANNOUNCES NORRIS FINALISTS
The NHL announced that Drew Doughty of the Kings, Erik Karlsson of the Senators and P.K. Subban of the Canadiens are the three finalists for the 2014-15 James Norris Memorial Trophy, awarded “to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position.”

Members of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association submitted ballots for the James Norris Memorial Trophy at the conclusion of the regular season, with the top three vote-getters designated as finalists. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, June 24, during the 2015 NHL Awards from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Click here for more information on each finalist.

LOOSE PUCKS
MUST SEE: Red Wings goaltender Petr Mrazek (23 SV) made a diving paddle stop on Lightning forward Brian Boyle . . . Islanders goaltender Jaroslav Halak (24 SV) made a lunging blocker save to keep the game tied in the third period . . . Red Wings forwardTomas Tatar (2-0—2) recorded his first career multi-goal playoff game (11 GP). He led the team and set a career high with 29 goals during the regular season . . . Islanders forward Frans Nielsen scored his first career playoff goal (13 GP) . . . ICYMI: The NHL announced the start time and national television information for Game 7 of the Red Wings-Lightning series . . . The Department of Player Safety announced that Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall will have a hearing for charging/an illegal check to the head of Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov . . . Click here for an all-access look at Sunday’s playoff action . . . Check out the #MyPlayoffsMoment videos of Canadiensand Wild fans celebrating their series-clinching wins . . . Members of the NBA’s Washington Wizards attended Game 7 of the Islanders-Capitals series.

the above information was provided by the NHL PR department