There was nothing in the goal department in the opening period, but both teams had quality chances. Players were hitting goal posts and ringing shots off the glass that had everybody on edge. Once the second period got rolling, Tom Wilson set the tone early in the frame. He sent a pass to Jakub Vrana, who beat a defender to the outside and set one past Marc Andre Fleury to open the scoring on the night. Teams traded goals for the rest of the Reilly Smith scored on the power play with less then 30 seconds left in the middle frame.
Once the 3rd period started, Vegas looked to be back on their heels, with Washington starting to press the attack. About halfway through the period, Washington got even on a huge goal from Devante Smith-Pelly, his 7th goal of the post season. Then, with a little over seven and a half minutes left in regulation, this happened:
Talk about being in the right place at the right time. For Eller, it was his 7th goal of the playoffs, and none will be bigger then this goal. Washington managed to hold on and walk away with the franchises first Stanley Cup title in their 43 year history.
Alex Ovechkin was named the Conn Smyth Trophy winner as MVP of the playoffs. He lead the playoffs with 15 goals and was second in scoring with 27 points. Ovie is the first left winger to win the award since Bob Gainey did it for Montreal in 1979. This means more to Ovechkin than any other forward on this team, because he's taken all the criticism for Washington's faults and shortcomings in the post season during his tenure in DC. He had to take on so much public opinion that I'm surprised he didn't fault under the pressure. He stuck with it, and now has a title to show for it. He's still two behind Sidney Crosby, the man he's always compared to, but he finally has a ring and can now put to resat the questioning of if he can lead his team to the promise land. He's done it and silenced his critics.
So congratulations to the Washington Capitals, your 2018 Stanley Cup Champions!
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