#3 Joe Juneau’s overtime goal
The Caps finally made their first true deep postseason run in the spring of 1998. It came to an end in the Finals at the hands of a Detroit Red Wings team in the middle of a dynasty. Still, it was an unprecedented spring in D.C.
In a thrilling series win over the Buffalo Sabres on the road, the Caps came through in Game 6 in overtime thanks to Joe Juneau. The opening period was scoreless. The Sabres went up in the second period on a goal from Michael Peca before Esa Tikkanen tied it 22 seconds later. The Sabres retook the lead in the third period on a goal from Paul Kruse before Peter Bondra scored on the power play to tie it.
In overtime, Adam Oates forced a turnover. Juneau would get the puck and pass it to Brian Bellows. After Bellows missed the shot, Juneau was there to poke in the rebound. It came 6:24 into the overtime session giving the Caps a 3-2 win en route to their first ever conference title.
Goaltender Olie Kolzig told Ben Raby:
"“You don’t believe it at first. You’re waiting for something to happen – maybe for the goal to be overturned – but then it hits you and you’re thinking, ‘We’re going to the Stanley Cup Final! We’re going to the Stanley Cup Final!’ That’s all I could think of. It was crazy.”"