Washington Capitals: When June Hockey Returned to the District

Beyond the wildest dreams of many Washington Capitals fans became a reality one year ago today.

Yes there was still work to be done, three more wins before winning the Stanley Cup. But on Saturday June 2, 2018 it was a unique day in itself. There was one big sporting event on the calendar the city was turned to that day. Nope, it wasn’t a baseball game, a horse race, or a soccer game.

When the calendar turns to June spring turns into summer but right in the heart of downtown there was still an ice surface inside Capital One Arena. The clash of the two best titans in the NHL that year, the Vegas Golden Knights and the Capitals was set to take place.

The backdrop of red clad fans was epic. The towel art on display as the Golden Knights were prepping for Game 3 at morning skate set the mood for what the scene would be like. But by the time the Capitals headed toward the city whether by car or by subway like Matt Niskanen and T.J. Oshie, nobody knew what would really be in store.

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Inside there wasn’t a single empty seat. It was all red, all noise and one could think the roof would blow off by the time the Capitals took command later in the evening.

Outside was just as insane. Good luck trying to get inside a bar surrounding the arena. Instead though was a party of it’s own. Outside was packed to the brim, shoulder to shoulder. This great city, this great capital of the United States came together as one.

The Capitals pulled out all the stops and didn’t need the budget Vegas does for their intros. Instead Redskins legendary head coach Joe Gibbs, the last coach to guide D.C. big four team to a championship 26 years prior, kicked things off with a “Let’s go Caps” chant that echoed throughout the entire DMV region.

The players came out supercharged hearing that from the locker room. Pat Sajak introduced the players. The anthem was sung. the puck was dropped. June hockey in the District was happening.

It barley one minute in when Evgeny Kuznetsov found Alex Ovechkin for a great look but was stopped by Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.

Just over five minutes in, it looked like Chandler Stephenson had the Capitals on the board early. The ref waved it off, however, due to goaltender interference by Devante Smith-Pelly. It was unintentional by Smith-Pelly, who skated into Fleury’s helmet but just didn’t see him. Smith-Pelly also was high-sticked before the play, at least that’s what the replay looked like. It would be scoreless after 20.

The Capitals used that intermission rest to their advantage because they rode energy around Fleury in the early part of the second period. Kuznetsov shot the puck and John Carlson had a chance to rebound it in but couldn’t corral it.

Fleury, planted on the ground, couldn’t grab the puck with his glove but pushed it to the side. The unfortunate part for Fleury was Tom Wilson was right there to push the puck back to the middle, an intended pass to Kuznetsov.

Kuznetsov couldn’t finish but the puck was in front of Ovechkin and despite getting tripped, Ovechkin pushed it through to bring down the house.

Later in the period, the Capitals doubled their lead on a rush down the ice. Kuznetsov went for the fake pass and shot it and everyone lost their minds even more. It could be happening.

Braden Holtby had been stellar the whole night especially just nights after making the biggest save in Capitals history but everyone makes mistakes. Holtby turned the puck over behind the net and Tomas Nosek made him pay.

It took the air out and there were some nerves both inside and outside. The Capitals needed just one more for good measure or risk giving up a tying goal.

That’s when Smith-Pelly came up big. The sequence was created by Jay Beagle chasing down and stealing a puck and finding a wide-open charging Smith-Pelly. That made the roof nearly blow off the top. It made an earthquake from G street to Georgetown.

From nerves, to cheers, to belief. The horns sound, Capitals take Game 3, 3-1.

Off to the steps!