This is real: The Washington Capitals are going the Stanley Cup Final.
By their trouncing of the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game Seven, the Caps will now compete for a championship for the first time in two decades. And I have the honor of telling you how it came to be.
It started as it should, with Alex Ovechkin scoring from the Ovi Spot on his very first shift. Andre Burkovsky came out of nowhere to notch two goals in the second period. Nick Backstrom added an empty-netter in the third period.
The Caps beat the Bolts 4-0!
The Caps win the series 4-3!
The Caps are going to the Cup Final!
So much to talk about, but first, we absolutely and positively must now Bailamos. Turn it up.
- On the first shift of the game, Alex Ovechkin scored. He was assisted by a great pass from Evgeny Kuznetsov, who in turn got the puck after a big hit from Tom Wilson got the play started. It’s exactly how the Caps are supposed to work.
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- The Caps played a lot of defense after that. That’s not to say they were playing poorly – instead just that Tampa, a very good team, was desperate to score. Why they failed – we’ll talk about that later.
- In the first period, Devante Smith-Pelly dropped to the ice to block a shot. The shot hit him high on his back, near the base of his neck. It was horrible. DSP played some shifts in the second but did not return for the third.
DSP blocks a shot with the top of his back/bottom of his neck. pic.twitter.com/izxKVfiyCu
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) May 24, 2018
- Late in the second period, Cedric Pacquette boarded Brooks Orpik. I say boarded because Pacquette hit Orpik in the numbers and into the boards. That seems obvious, but the referees did not agree. No penalty on the play. Orpik looked dazed. He returned to the bench in the third period and played some shifts.
Cedric Paquette's hit on Brooks Orpik pic.twitter.com/wdy9yWGSva
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) May 24, 2018
- Those last two bullets add up to mean this: The Caps played the final period with eleven forwards and (for a while) five defensemen. The players they missed, Orpik and DSP, each had their best performances of the postseason on Monday in Game Six. They were missed.
- I don’t need to belabor this, but it was a Very Bad Move for Tom Wilson to fight Braydon Coburn in the first period. It would be a bad move even if the Caps weren’t on attack during 4-on-4 play at the time, but they were. It would be a bad move even if Coburn weren’t a depth defenseman and Wilson one-third of the Caps’ best line, but they are. I get statements and sticking up for your teammates, but, friends, goals. Winning is the biggest statement of all.
- Andre Burakovsky was scratched earlier this series, and it was not a bad decision. With injuries and doubt shaking the young Swede, expectations were in Game Seven. But Burakovsky stole a puck from Dan Girardi to create a crucial goal out of thin air and then went solo to do it again. Big Game Andre’s night was so big its gravitational pull knocked over my houseplants.
Feeling of the night
It’s been a long road to get back to this spot. Jagr and Olie and Bondra for Brooks and fire sales and lockouts and Feds and Green and Bradley and Stecks and Shoaooanoaonane Morrissosonne and more lockouts and Boudreau and Hunter and Oates and GMGM and Halak and Lundqvist and Sidney and Varly and Neuvirth and Vokoun.
But now: Ovechkin. Backstrom. Kuznetsov. Burakovsky. Niskanen. Orpik. Carlson. And so many more, but here’s one more name worth calling out:
Braden Holtby. He didn’t even start in net when the playoffs began, but the Caps wouldn’t be where they are had he not done the one thing he hoped he’d never do.
"I hope I never reach the top of my game." – Braden Holtby, zen as fuck
— RMNB (@rmnb) February 4, 2015
Sorry, Braden. You shut the Lightning out in Game Seven. And Game Six. And most of Game Five. An inhuman performance from a wonderful human.
Farewell, Tampa Bay. That was an excellent series.
Now: Vegas and destiny.
Headline photo: Scott Audette
