The NHL season is set to close within a couple of weeks, and there will be a first-time champion. This is the last post of the season, with each game in the series included.
Game 1: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada. In goal: Braden Holtby for the Capitals and Marc-Andre Fleury for the Golden Knights. Vegas started in the first period with a Colin Miller power play goal, his third of the postseason, powered by Erik Haula. Washington tied it on a Brett Connolly goal, his fifth of the playoffs, via Michal Kempny and Andre Burakovsky. The Capitals took the lead on a Nicklas Backstrom goal, his fifth of the postseason, guided in by T.J. Oshie and Jakub Vrana. The Golden Knights retied it with a William Karlsson goal, his seventh of the playoffs, helped along by Reilly Smith and Deryk Engelland. Vegas retook the lead in the second period on a Smith goal, his third of the postseason, fueled by Engelland and Jonathan Marchessault. Washington tied it again on a John Carlson goal, his fourth of the playoffs, made possible by Oshie and Backstrom. The Capitals pulled ahead in the third period with a Tom Wilson goal, his fourth of the postseason, coming off of Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov. The Golden Knights equalized with an unassisted Ryan Reaves goal, his second of the playoffs. Vegas regained the lead on a Tomas Nosek goal, his second of the postseason, courtesy of Shea Theodore. The Golden Knights iced it at 6-4 with a Nosek empty net goal, his third of the playoffs and second of the game, set up by David Perron. The three stars belonged to Nosek, Smith, and Backstrom, while Engelland and Oshie get the honorable mentions. The Golden Knights lead the series 1-0.
Game 2: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada. In goal: Braden Holtby for the Capitals and Marc-Andre Fleury for the Golden Knights. Vegas opened in the first period with a James Neal goal, his fifth of the postseason, helped along by Luca Sbisa and Colin Miller. Washington tied it on a Lars Eller goal, his sixth of the playoffs, assisted by Michal Kempny and Andre Burakovsky. The Capitals took the lead in the second period on an Alex Ovechkin power play goal, his thirteenth of the postseason, powered by Eller and Nicklas Backstrom. Washington added on with a Brooks Orpik goal, passed from Eller and Burakovsky. The Golden Knights got one back with a Shea Theodore power play goal, his third of the playoffs, with assists provided by Reilly Smith and William Karlsson. They couldn't get closer, leaving the Capitals with a 3-2 win. The three stars were Eller, Holtby (37 for 39 in saves), and Burakovsky. The series heads to the nation's capital tied at 1.
Game 3: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC. In goal: Marc-Andre Fleury for the Golden Knights and Braden Holtby for the Capitals. Washington got going in the second period with an Alex Ovechkin goal, his fourteenth of the postseason, made possible by John Carlson and Evgeny Kuznetsov. The Capitals added on with a Kuznetsov goal, his twelfth of the playoffs, via Jay Beagle and T.J. Oshie. Vegas got on the board with a Tomas Nosek goal, his fourth of the postseason, coming off of Pierre-Edouard Bellemare in the third period. Washington replied with a Devante Smith-Pelly goal, his fifth of the playoffs, with a lone assist by Beagle. This secured a 3-1 win, with the three stars given to Kuznetsov, Beagle, and Holtby (21 for 22 in saves). The Capitals have taken a 2-1 series lead.
Game 4: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC. In goal: Marc-Andre Fleury for the Golden Knights and Braden Holtby for the Capitals. Washington began in the first period with a T.J. Oshie power play goal, his eighth of the postseason, powered by Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom. The Capitals added on with a Tom Wilson goal, his fifth of the playoffs, made possible by Kuznetsov. Washington extended the lead as Devante Smith-Pelly scored his sixth of the postseason, thanks to Alex Ovechkin and Matt Niskanen. The Capitals padded the lead in the second period on a John Carlson power play goal, his fifth of the playoffs, with assists provided by Kuznetsov, who got a sock trick, and Oshie. Vegas got on the board in the third period with a James Neal goal, his sixth of the postseason, coming off of Erik Haula and Colin Miller. The Golden Knights got closer with a Reilly Smith goal, his fourth of the playoffs, via Jonathan Marchessault and Luca Sbisa. Washington answered with a Michal Kempny goal, his second of the postseason, fueled by Backstrom and Oshie. The Capitals struck again on a Brett Connolly power play goal, his sixth of the playoffs, courtesy fo Backstrom and Kuznetsov. This stood for a 6-2 win, with the three stars being Kuznetsov, Oshie, and Backstrom. The Capitals head on the road a win away from glory with the 3-1 series lead.
Game 5: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada. In goal: Braden Holtby for the Capitals and Marc-Andre Fleury for the Golden Knights. Washington dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Jakub Vrana goal, his third of the postseason, coming off of Tom Wilson and Evgeny Kuznetsov. Vegas tied it on a Nate Schmidt goal, his third of the playoffs, via Reilly Smith and Jonathan Marchessault. The Capitals took the lead back with an Alex Ovechkin power play goal, his fifteenth of the postseason, powered by Nicklas Backstrom and John Carlson. The Golden Knights tied it again with a David Perron goal, passed from Tomas Tatar and Colin Miller. Vegas took the lead with a Smith power play goal, his fifth of the playoffs, with assists provided by Alex Tuch and Shea Theodore. Washington tied it on a Devante Smith-Pelly goal, his seventh of the postseason, assisted by Brooks Orpik. The Capitals iced it at 4-3 with a Lars Eller goal, his seventh of the playoffs, guided in by Brett Connolly and Andre Burakovsky. The three stars went to Eller, Smith, and Smith-Pelly, while the Conn Smythe for Stanley Cup Playoffs MVP belongs to Ovechkin. The Capitals are Stanley Cup champions by a 4-1 series win margin.
I don't know at this time if I will be covering the NHL here come October. My job search continues now, and there is a growing concern I will not be writing professionally at first. I may have to take some of my coverage out to accommodate a job as well, which would obviously see significantly less attention paid to blogging on the whole. However, I have a few more options to explore before I adjust my dreams. I will not talk about any of them here, but I will let all of you know if things start happening over the summer. MLS and NWSL coverage will continue for now. I've enjoyed this fresh NHL season, and we'll see what the future holds. As always, you can find me on Twitter @OutsiderSports0.
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