In a world where Alex Ovechkin doesn’t score but Daniel Winnik flirts with the hat trick, anything is possible. And for a fleeting moment in the third period, the realm of possibility included a beautiful skill goal set up by Jay Beagle and finished by Tom Wilson.

But the moment passed, as if the fates themselves decreed, “Uh, hell no. I mean, it’s Beagle and Wilson. Get real.” So instead of a highlight-reel goal to be played on loop for the next week, Tom Wilson crashed into the net like a bag of laundry shot out of a cannon.

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The pass by Jay Beagle is beyond reproach. It’s a work of art. It’s a Rembrandt. It’s Gears of War 4.

And then there goes Tom Wilson spoiling the finish. It appears a hustling John Tavares deflects the puck away right at the last moment.

No goal, but at least we can all share this memory for ever and ever.

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