What happens now?
A week ago, the hockey world was turned on its head. Well, mainly the city of Washington DC and the combined states of Maryland and Virginia. This team wasn’t supposed to be good. They were the team that the world had given up on. They were playing an expansion team that hadn’t played like that all season. They were playing a team of misfits that nobody wanted. To me, it was the perfect storm for The 2018 Stanley Cup Final. It truly was The Stanley Cup Final that no one expected to see. For myself, I grew up a Washington Capitals fan. I have been since I was 6, which coincidentally was the last time The Caps made it to The Final Round where they were swept by The Detroit Red Wings without so much as a whimper in four games. I remember players by the names of Witt, Kolzig, Bondra, Gonchar, and Zubrus and so on down the line. I remember the years we were good but not good enough. I remember the years we owned everyone we played but couldn’t get past whoever we got matched up with in the second round. I remember the years we had 3-1 leads in series only to squander opportunities and lose. For years it always seemed like getting to the second round was an accomplishment and a let down at the same time. We would ultimately play The Pens [a team we hadn’t beaten in the playoffs since 1994], Rangers, Flyers or Lightning and ultimately be sent packing each time. Over the years, to say we as Capitals fans had come to expect disappointment was an understatement. We didn’t just expect it, we embraced it. That’s how bad it had gotten. This year though, things just seemed different. The boys faced adversity at every turn. There were two times during the season that I thought our head coach would be sent packing. Once in November of 2017 and then again in February of this year. Both during horrible stretches where I know our owner, Ted Leonsis had to be scratching his head and asking what’s wrong? Braden Holtby was by no means spectacular during the regular season. There was a time at the end where I thought we wouldn’t see Holtby much of at all during The Playoffs because of how his back up, Philip Grubauer was playing. Alexander Ovechkin was his typical self all year. He reached milestone after milestone and yet one always seemed just out of reach. Nick Backstrom, Tom Wilson, DSP, Brett Connolly, and the rest of the cast were just along for the ride at one point. We were on cruise control. Then, something magical happened. Hell maybe even the best thing to happen to this team happened. We got backed into a corner against Columbus in the first round after Holtby was benched for the first two games in the series. We had to play with urgency, and we did. Winning in 5. In Pittsburgh, Tom Wilson got suspended. The Caps became a different team after that. Kuzy wins game 7 on a breakaway 5 hole goal on Matt Murray. Nick Backstrom got hurt and was sidelined for multiple games heading into Tampa Bay. For this team, it was just next man up. We blew through Tampa like a hot knife through butter once we got our acts together, winning 3 in a row to lock it up. Then came Vegas. Winners of the Western Conference. The expansion team that nobody had been able to stop all year. 51 wins, 109 points. Doesn’t sound like an expansion team to me. We basically gave Vegas the first game in The Stanley Cup Final. After that, it was all caps, all the time. Braden Holtby stands on his head in game two, and comes up in the clutch by making what we now refer to as “The Save” on what should have been an easy slam dunk for Ryan Reaves. The offense wakes up in games 3 and four back here in DC, by lighting Vegas up like a Christmas tree. With thoughts of clinching on their minds, they headed back to Vegas. One game at a time. One win at a time. They never got too far ahead of theirselves. In game 6, it happened...they did everything right. The hockey gods made sure of that. Every good thing that could happen, did happen. Just like it was written up. We dealt with a phantom clock that showed 15:36 left when there was under a minute to play in the third period. No one had a clue what the time was at one point. Then it came down to 0.06 seconds and a faceoff left. A lot could have happened but again, the hockey gods interviened. When the clock finally showed 00.00 left, that’s when it sunk in. We were Stanley Cup Champs. Watching this team celebrate has been a thing of beauty. They didn’t go behind the velvet rope and forget the fans. They embraced them, Hell they even included them. From keg stands off the cup, to swimming in a fountain in Georgetown. They’ve only just started to do it all. Their parade was just as amazing. It could be the last time this group is all together the way they are, due to free agency and trades that could happen. You just never know. We took it all in and enjoyed one last ride together. Just like our Captain said to us at the end of it all...“at the beginning of the year I say, well we say that we’re not going to be %#*+ing suck this year, we’re Stanley Cup champions!” Boy, what a year it was!
