:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59957451/usa_today_10873780.0.jpg)
1. Hey, so as you might have heard, the Washington Capitals won last night and now stand one win away from hoisting the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history. But “one win away” ain’t there yet, and in this Spring of exorcising demons (the Penguins, the second-round hump, etc.), the biggest one is now here: the 3-1 series lead.
While teams almost never lose a #StanleyCupFinal once up 3-1, there's a history of such playoff collapses for the Caps. However, they can make all that a distant memory as early as Thursday pic.twitter.com/tS4FLEl65R
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) June 5, 2018
The Capitals vs. a miracle: Each side has a case https://t.co/YRERzuI53O
— Emily Kaplan (@emilymkaplan) June 5, 2018
But don’t worry — they know their history and that there remains work to be done:
“It feels nice but it’s not over yet.” — Alex Ovechkin after the #ALLCAPS’ Game 4 victory Monday night. #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/q3vKk5EuLb
— Tarik El-Bashir⌨️ (@TarikNBCS) June 5, 2018
Here's the fuller TJ Oshie quote: “We’re trying to write our own story here. It seems like the rest of the city's on board with that. We haven't dwelled much on the past. There’s been heartbreak here. We know that. But that’s kind of scarred over and made us stronger for it.”
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) June 5, 2018
Barry Trotz postgame: “You have the opportunity to do something special as a group. But it's going to be the hardest thing to do, the hardest game to win."#ALLCAPS #StanleyCup #VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/NNkk38LIUw
— Post Sports (@PostSports) June 5, 2018
Can the Caps’ match the Knights’ level of desperation at this point? That will be the big story of Game 5. Well... perhaps until the final buzzer, that is.
2. All Spring, things that used to happen to the Caps have happened for the Caps, with another (and probably best) example coming in Game 4, in which Vegas hit the post four different times:
If you include all the posts the caps win 7-6. pic.twitter.com/28RdtEFs4Z
— Micah Blake McCurdy (@IneffectiveMath) June 5, 2018
Everyone in red is committed to blocking shots tonight, especially the posts
— Dimitri Filipovic (@DimFilipovic) June 5, 2018
And one of those pings loomed larger than the rest:
Off the post. pic.twitter.com/KF9IHKCwxE
— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) June 5, 2018
It was The Save Part Two — until replay revealed that it wasn’t a save at all. Instead it was a point-blank miss by James Neal that the Golden Knights never recovered from: https://t.co/Ks1EV5rfsH
— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) June 5, 2018
Or, if you prefer, in the parlance of the day:
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) June 5, 2018
“Goalie’s best friend” indeed...
Braden Holtby to @ScottOake: “Good fortune was on our side a little bit. We have to be honest with ourselves.”
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) June 5, 2018
Braden Holtby thought Neal’s shot was in. “We earned our breaks tonight,” he said #StanleyCup
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) June 5, 2018
Put another way:
You: The Caps sure have been lucky tonight.
— Japers' Rink (@JapersRink) June 5, 2018
Me: Guess this is what 43 years of banked luck looks like.
3. Like more than half a million Washington area residents do daily, T.J. Oshie took the Metro to his job on Monday and then, after going to work... Oshie went to work. The Caps’ resident honeybadger opened the scoring on the power play, added a couple of assists, was credited with three hits (and took more than his fair share), got tagged with a ten-minute misconduct and won four-of-five face offs. And, speaking of face offs (?), Oshie’s helmet was responsible for breaking Colin Miller’s nose. Oops.
Oshie was named the game’s first star, which may more fairly represent his impact on the game than his stats.
Man of the people: T.J. Oshie rides Metro again, then is one of Capitals’ heroes in Game 4 https://t.co/x7oj2w6PXb pic.twitter.com/IynipdpI3L
— Post Sports (@PostSports) June 5, 2018
Taking the Metro to the game must get you in the mood to score goals. @TJOshie77 pic.twitter.com/efIqCjmIui
— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) June 5, 2018
T.J. Oshie. Makes. No. Mistake. #ALLCAPS #VegasBorn #StanleyCuppic.twitter.com/4egT1F3swn
— SiriusXM NHL Network (@SiriusXMNHL) June 5, 2018
(Get a load of his work on this one...)
Here's the McNabb hit on Oshie: pic.twitter.com/BZoCLD8zM1
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 5, 2018
Oshie drops it back, throws the reverse hit on Colin Miller and then Kempny scores pic.twitter.com/oVQvESuG9s
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) June 5, 2018
Oshie: “You never hope someone has a broken nose or broken bone, but that’s the way it goes."
— Todd Dybas (@Todd_Dybas) June 5, 2018
T.J. Oshie: working for the Caps, working for you. Seriously...
THANK YOU T.J. OSHIE!
— Ledo Pizza (@LedoPizza) June 5, 2018
FREE PIZZA DEAL TOMORROW 6/5/18 SEE BELOW! pic.twitter.com/RrLTIb13NK
Loading comments...