On this day, one year ago, the Washington Capitals beat the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Five of the 2018 Stanley Cup Final to win their first ever Stanley Cup. We cried. Did you?
Game Five was a push-and-pull, heart-in-your-throat, oh-god-oh-god-will-they-actually-do-it, oh-my-god-they’re-actually-doing-it game that Capitals fans will remember for the rest of their lives.
Let’s take a trip down memory lane. We covered that night extensively.
Game highlights
After a scoreless first period, Jakub Vrana got the Capitals on the board first, scoring on a breakaway.
On the bench, Alex Ovechkin was pumped.
Former Caps defenseman Nate Schmidt would answer three-minutes and sixteen seconds later to tie. But then (!) Ovi came to the rescue on the powerplay, one-timing a perfect Nicklas Backstrom pass past Marc-Andre Fleury to give the Caps back the lead 2-1.
But the Golden Knights would not go gentle into that good night. Vegas scored consecutive goals to end the period. They took a 3-2 lead into the second intermission. A Game Six at Capital One Arena seemed likely.
Instead, midway through the third period, Devante Smith-Pelly scored his seventh goal of the postseason and the biggest goal of his career, sending the puck past MAF as he was diving to the ice. 3-3.
And then Lars Eller did it. (Get the poster. Get the shirt.)
Here’s how RMNB’s Ian Oland so eloquently put it that night.
“omgomgomgomgomggomgogmogmogomgmosaomdfgojkfsdakjlf;lasfjdls;”
And the crowd outside Capital One Arena went wild.
The Capitals would hold on and win their first Stanley Cup in Franchise history.
Ian got emotional, y’all.
Alex Ovechkin was given the Conn Smythe Trophy…
Which he did not care about at all!
"this is not the stanley cup, take it" pic.twitter.com/5twGNquYNW
— Cristiano Simonetta (@CMS_74_) June 8, 2018
And then the magical moment happened.
We Are The Champions. And we were not suck that year.
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!!! #ALLCAPS #STANLEYCUP pic.twitter.com/uBSP6XXTJO
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) June 8, 2018
Sing it with us!!
“We Are The Champions Of The World 🎤🎤”#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/mCj1Qy89Ea
— DavidDunn (@ImDavidDunn) June 8, 2018
⚠️ My favorite part of the evening – singing “We are the Champions.” #ALLCAPS #StanleyCup #DMV #USA 🇺🇸🏒 pic.twitter.com/kTws19F3iT
— Steve Rudin ABC7 (@SteveRudinABC7) June 8, 2018
It was worth the wait.
Worth The Wait. #ALLCAPS #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/TxsZrBUgoL
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) June 8, 2018
RMNB highlights
- Before Game Five, Vegas goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and Alex Ovechkin slashed at each other. They’d been exchanging trolling attempts all series.
- The Washington Post Express’ “Give ’em the bird, Kuzy” spread was an eternal mood for Game Five.
- Very good boy Jakub Vrana opened the scoring in the second period with a speedy breakaway goal.
- Ovi celebrated Vrana’s goal. Enthusiastically.
- Backstrom to Ovechkin. Goal. From the office. Like poetry.
- Devante Smith-Pelly did a barrel roll. And scored.
- Lars Eller netted what would become the Game. Winning. Goal.
- Then the Washington Capitals won the Stanley Cup.
- Alex Ovechkin and Nastya Oveckina announced they were expecting their first child.
- The Cup celebration was briefly interrupted by boobs.
- Ovi was awarded the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP.
- TJ Oshie got choked up talking about what winning the Stanley Cup meant for his Dad.
- RMNB got photographs from the ice during the celebration.
- Jay Beagle became the first player in NHL history to win the Kelly Cup, Calder Cup, and Stanley Cup
- Watching Alex Ovechkin lift the Cup was an emotional experience.
- And the first person Ovi passed the Cup to was Nicklas Backstrom. Naturally.
- In the locker room, the Capitals’ anthem for the summer was belted out for the first time. “We Are The Champions.”
- Ovi also paraded the Cup through the MGM resort. Just weeks after the company’s Twitter account mocked them.
- Oh, and there was drinking. Lots, and lots, and lots of drinking.
- And then, after it all, RMNB’s own Peter Hassett shared his thoughts on winning.
That was wonderful right? Now come re-watch the game with us at a party we’re hosting at Walters later tonight.
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