The set-up: The NHL's two best teams, the Presidents' Trophy-winning Capitals and the defending champion Penguins will decide their second round series in tonight's Game 7 at Washington. The Caps trailed the series 3-1 and entered the third period of Game 5 at home, down 2-1. However, a three-goal burst to open that period gave them a 4-2 win and then back in Pittsburgh for Game 6, the Caps totally dominated the Penguins, in a 5-2 victory (led 5-0 late into the third period). However, while this group of Penguins have won two Stanley Cups, the Caps have been the NHL's biggest underachievers in that span. Incredibly, Pittsburgh sports a perfect 5-0 record on the road in its previous Game 7 clashes heading into Wednesday's winner-take-all with Washington at the Verizon Center, while the Caps are 4-10 all-time in Games 7s, including 3-7 at home. These teams have met in three Game 7s, with Pittsburgh winning each one, outscoring Washington 12-3!

Pittsburgh: The Penguins are hoping that the third try at closing out the Caps will be the charm. "We won three games before. It's just one more game," said Evgeni Malkin. He scoring a goal in Game 6 to extend his point streak to five games (three goals, four assists) while increasing his playoff total to a league-best 18 points (five goals, 13 assists). Fellow forward Jake Guentzel extended his franchise record for goals by a rookie in a single postseason with his league-leading ninth on Monday and also tied Jaromir Jagr (1991) for most points (13) by a Penguins rookie in a single postseason. Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby returned after missing Game 4 to set up a goal in back-to-back contests, giving him six points (two goals, four assists) in five games of this series and 13 points (four goals, nine assists) this postseason.

Washington: Head coach Barry Trotz was matter of fact with his response as to why he elected to "demote" Alex Ovechkin to the third line in favor of Andre Burakovsky. "Sometimes you just have to try because if you don't try then you may regret it in the end," Trotz said on Tuesday, one day after Burakovsky collected his second straight multi-point performance with a pair of goals in a 5-2 romp. Play-making center Nicklas Backstrom recorded his third multi-point effort of the series with a goal and an assist and has a team-leading 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in these playoffs and 24 in 24 playoff games over the past two seasons.

The pick: So, why should the Caps win this Game 7? History says they are chokers! However, what's different this year is that the Caps have dominated the play in this series, even when they were down 3-1 in games. What we've seen in Games 5 and 6 is nothing more than a team "getting what it had earned" by out-working and out-playing its opponent. What is also different about this year is that Washington also boasts the presence of Justin Williams. He has recorded seven goals and seven assists, plus owns a perfect 7-0 mark in Game 7s in his career, justifyingly earning the nickname, "Mr. Game 7!" Make Washington a 10* play