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It’s Not a Desert Mirage: An Oral History of the Capitals vs. Golden Knights Game 5 (Part 2)

Forty minutes had passed in Game 5 and the Caps found themselves trailing by a goal.

It was time for heroes to emerge, and emerge they did.

Now one year later, a look back at the events leading up to the first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

So… where were we?

Start of 3rd period

All postseason long, the Caps have been putting to bed old choking habits and exorcising those all-too-familiar demons. But up 3-1 in their series, with a chance to capture the Cup in five games, they now find themselves trailing 3-2 after two periods, and the question starts to creep in: do they have the killer instinct? Can they finish off this final series?

A rollercoaster of a third holds the answer.

3rd period, 10:08 remaining

At some point as a Caps fan you lose track of how many times the other team has gotten that lucky bounce and converted over the years, how often the Caps’ playoff hopes have hinged on a single play that seems to defy logic and embody luck.

Through the first three-and-a-half rounds, however, those bounces have mostly been going the Caps’ way. And that (along with just some damn hard work and skill) continues in Game 5.

Demons of series’ past… meet Devante Smith-Pelly.

John Walton’s call

DSP is the hero, but he owes a bit to the silky-smooth mitts of one Brooks Orpik.

It’s a brand new ballgame.

3rd period, 7:37 remaining

We’ve barely had time to process the awesomeness that was Devante Smith-Pelly’s game-tying goal when more magic happens.

John Walton’s call

Mayhem in DC, and mayhem in Denmark, where a small but devoted group of fans in his hometown are glued to the screen.

The go-ahead goal for the Caps means it’s time for someone to get all gussied up… just in case its presence is requested on the ice.

Hello, gorgeous.

And now… we wait.

3rd period, 2:37 remaining

It is ALL HANDS ON DECK as the Caps look to hold onto their one-goal lead.

3rd period, 28.6 seconds remaining

…we think.

Time never moves slower than when you want it to just fly by, and the last few minutes of regulation are painfully slow. So slow, in fact that at one point time appears to stand still.

Actually, it does stand still. Because the clock stops.

Wait… the clock STOPS??

We’re so busy worrying about how much time is left that we almost – almost – don’t have time to panic about Nicklas Backstrom missing the empty net and failing to score a goal that could have iced the game and saved us all from a million heart attacks.

…don’t worry, Ovechkin’s got us all covered.

(But still has all the love in the world for his Swedish buddy.)

Missed empty-netters, frozen clocks… none of it matters because the final seconds are about to tick down.

And the Caps.

Have won.

THE STANLEY CUP.

The celebration on the ice is electric and amazing and the most beautiful outpouring of emotion you’ll ever see.

Salute to the Vegas Knights, a worthy opponent.

Could you make a case for anyone but Alex Ovechkin earning the Conn Smythe Trophy? Perhaps. Was it still absolutely the right call to give it to Ovechkin in the end? 100%.

After the hugs and the handshakes and the Conn Smythe, it’s time.

At last.

As is tradition, each of the players gets to lift the Cup in a ceremony filled with meaning.

Once more around the rink (er, watch out for those headlights)…

and it’s time to kick this celebration up a notch in the locker room…

…where the champagne is flowing…

…and the first of many renditions of “We Are the Champions” is belted out.

Because they are.

Forever.

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