We’ve got another Washington Capitals classic for you today.
After a thrilling Game 2 win with the best save we’ve ever seen, the Washington Capitals came back home to D.C. in front of a rabid atmosphere inside and outside Capital One Arena. It was a night fans would never forget. The first Stanley Cup home game in 20 years.
Unlike what occurred 20 years ago though, the Capitals continued their insane momentum from the road and cruised to a big win.
Evgeny Kuznetsov came back to the lineup after he exited the previous game with an injury from a hit to the boards so the team was at full strength.
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With this a chance at being the first title in the city in 26 years, the Caps brought in an icon to lead the cheers prior to puck drop looking to legendary Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs.
The first period was scoreless but the crowd was still engaged to the action. 1:10 into the second period there was a loose puck in front of the net with shots missed by Kuznetsov and John Carlson but Alex Ovechkin was there to push the puck past Marc-Andre Fleury while falling forward. It nearly blew the roof off the building.
“I thought it was sort of the right thing in a playoff game, our first victory in the Final at home, that Alex would score the first goal. I thought that was a little bit of poetic justice, if you will, for all the tough times,” said then-head coach Barry Trotz.
At 12:50 T.J. Oshie passed the puck down ice for Jay Beagle in a 3-on-1. Beagle found Kuznetsov and he released the puck past Fleury for his 12th goal of the postseason. It was 2-0 good guys heading into the final period.
The Vegas Golden Knights got on the board at 3:29 of the third period with a goal from Tomas Nosek. At 13:53 the Caps got their two goal lead back thanks to Beagle stripping the puck away from a defender along the boards and feeding the puck to a charging Devante Smith-Pelly. Fleury had no chance.
3-1 would be the final and outside was just as much a madhouse as it was inside. The steps outside the National Portrait Gallery was filled with all red. The Caps took the lead in the series and looked to carry that momentum into Game 4.
“The city is excited, fans are excited, but it’s only two (wins). We just have to move forward and don’t think about it too much,” Ovechkin told Dan Rosen of NHL.com.