Fifteen of sixteen. With a dominant win on home ice in Game Four, Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals are one win short of the Stanley Cup.
The Golden Knights were buzzing in the first period, but after a couple of rung posts, the Caps took over. TJ Oshie scored a lovely power-play goal, then Tom Wilson turned an offensive-zone faceoff into a score of his own, with Devante Smith-Pelly rounding out the period with some fancy footwork.
The second period’s lone goal belonged to John Carlson, who got a nifty slapshot to beat Fleury on the power play. James Neal roofed a wristshot in the third period to end Braden Holtby’s shutout bid. Reilly Smith caught a great pass from Marchessault to cut the Caps’ lead in half, but Kempny put in the dagger with a one-timer during 4-on-4 play. Things got chippy late, so Brett Connolly punished the Knights for their churlishness with a 5-on-3 goal.
Caps beat Knights 6-2! Caps lead the series 3-1!
Tonight we dance. Nothing is forbidden anymore.
James Neal had a yawning net on the PP. Instead his shot hits the post and the puck bounces off Holtby and out. pic.twitter.com/lApQGvFuHr
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) June 5, 2018
This is insane!! #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/lp8sJHbH47
— Dior Ginyard (@DiorNFLPA) June 5, 2018
Some of my very best friends of the night
There was a moment this winter when I was pretty much over it. The team wasn’t playing well, and I wasn’t writing well, and I was doing a bad job dealing with the bad feedback I got about my bad writing. I had run out of the ironic detachment that I had used in the past to excuse and contain the despair that comes with following with stupid, stupid team. My investment –- emotional but also untold spools of time and work — seemed a waste, without any merit or meaning. The team looked years away from doing anything worthwhile in the postseason, so all my effort felt like some obscene, narcissistic self-indulgence.
I don’t feel like that right now.
No, the Caps are one victory away from their first championship. Ovi’s first, Holtby’s first, Ted’s first, DC’s first, our first. Should they win one more, well, it’s not like all those hours and all that heartache we’ve invested –- some of us since 1974, some of us more recently –– will be suddenly vindicated. The Caps are on the verge of a championship, but we’re not on the verge of somehow magically getting paid back for all that anguish. This is just us feeling something new, different, and wonderful – and feeling it together.
We’re not quite there yet, so maybe this is a good time to think about what we’ve been through, and maybe more importantly, who we’ve been through it with. They are precious people and those were special times.
The Caps are one win away from the Stanley Cup, and we’re right there with ’em. This has been a good investment.
The fans outside are loving the late goal from Kempny #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/jCvXWZ53Ui
— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) June 5, 2018
Crash the net.
Headline photo: Avi Gerver
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