Andre Burakovsky wins second Stanley Cup

Congratulations to Andre Burakovsky, who became the first member from the 2018 Washington Capitals championship team to win a second Stanley Cup. That’s right, the Caps let another one get away.

The thing about Burakovsky though that a lot of people don’t seem to get was if he had stayed with the Caps, he probably would have struggled. He needed that change in scenery to shine and he got exactly that in Colorado with the Avalanche.

Burakovsky scored a career high 22 goals and 39 assists for 61 points in the regular season. In the playoffs he had three goals and five assists for eight points including the overtime winner in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals. They bested the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games.

Burakovsky also had a goal and an assist in Game 2 which would go on to be another Colorado win but would miss the rest of the series with an injury. And he was banged up throughout the playoffs. He played through a broken ankle and a broken thumb in four different places during the finals.

Burakovsky told Samantha Pell of The Washington Post after hoisting the Cup a second time:

"“It’s just as good. To win the Stanley Cup once is really hard. To do it twice is even harder. So proud of this group to be able to dig down going through a lot of injuries, hard work and sacrifice to get this done.”"

Burakovsky spent much of the playoffs skating on the Avalanche’s second line. It’s good to see how he found his home in Colorado. Hopefully it inspires his friends back in Washington to win another Cup someday.

It’s also hard to believe he’s 27. I remember when he scored in his NHL debut when he was 19. I was 21 at the time wondering what I was doing with my life.