Saturday night, Barry Trotz finally made the obvious move in the third period of Game Five. Trotz promoted Jakub Vrana to the first line. And the Capitals won because of it.
On the first line’s very first shift in the final frame, Vrana hit Evgeny Kuznetsov wide open for a breakaway goal. That tally tied the game 3-3.
With 4:38 left in the game, Vrana was in the right place at the right time to send Capital One Arena into a frenzy.
Vrana’s goal ended up being the game winner.
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JAKUB VRANA LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/CjB88XlpUB
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) May 6, 2018
The Czech winger’s goal was made possible by a fantastic individual play by, who else, Alex Ovechkin. After taking a pass from Evgeny Kuznetsov in the neutral zone, Ovechkin put his shoulder down and did a power move around Penguins center Riley Sheahan.
The Russian machine then sent a centering pass to Vrana who buried the puck past Matt Murray.
To celebrate, Vrana pumped his fist and screamed before leaping into Ovechkin’s arms at center ice.
“Obviously it feels really fucking good,” Vrana said after the game.
Vrana had three points on the night, including a goal and two assists. He tallied a primary assist on Evgeny Kuznetsov’s game-tying goal and the primary assist on Brett Connolly’s first period goal that gave the Caps a 2-1 lead.
The Capitals now take a 3-2 series lead into Pittsburgh where they’ll try to close out the Penguins in Game Six. The Capitals have lost nine of 10 series to the Pens. The Caps now have two opportunities to close Pittsburgh out.
THIS @JVranaa#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/zHoApViWMC
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) May 6, 2018
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