The Washington Capitals have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory for so long, I thought there was a chance that something would go wrong right till the very end.
As we know well around these parts, only the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs have come back from a 3-1 deficit in a Stanley Cup Final but going into last night, the Caps had just a 7-5 record for closing out series from a 3-1 position.
Those five lost series are the most in pro sports,
according to Wikipedia:
• 2015 - second round vs. New York Rangers
• 2010 - first round vs. Montreal Canadiens
• 1995 - first round vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
• 1992 - first round vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
• 1987 - first round vs. New York Islanders
The Vancouver Canucks have come back three times from a 3-1 deficit—in 1992 against Winnipeg, 1994 against Calgary and 2003 against St. Louis. That ties them with the Boston Red Sox for the most comebacks in pro sports. If they'd pulled it off vs. the Rangers in 1994, they'd have that achievement all to themselves!
For all the unlikely things that Vegas achieved this year, I couldn't rule out the possibility that the Golden Knights could pull one last rabbit out of their hat. If they won Game 5, all those Washington demons would start swirling again.
But give credit to the Caps. Even after falling behind after two periods on Thursday, they didn't give up. And there was something uncomfortably familiar about the fact that it was a misplay by Luca Sbisa that led to Lars Eller's Cup-winning goal, wasn't there?
Sbisa was also on the ice for Devante Smith-Pelly's tying goal, one shift earlier. He picked a bad day to have a bad day.
Now, he's finished with that infamous three-year contract he signed with the Canucks, with the cap hit of $3.6 million per season. I had hoped that he'd go into unrestricted free agency riding the shine of a strong playoff run; it's a shame that the lasting memory will be his miscue on that winning goal.
I'm very interested to see where he lands this summer, and what kind of deal he can draw. Gerard Gallant liked him enough to play him regularly right till the bitter end—and it's not like he was responsible for his team being in a 3-1 series hole in the first place. It wouldn't surprise me to see Vegas bring him back.
The Knights are going to be a fascinating team to watch during this offseason. George McPhee made a point of acquiring players on short contracts in the expansion draft. Along with Sbisa, James Neal, David Perron and Ryan Reaves are all UFAs. George has some seriously heavy lifting to do on the RFA side, determining appropriate deals for William Karlsson, Colin Miller, Shea Theodore, Tomas Nosek and William Carrier.
In the end, though, Ovi's unbridled joy and T.J. Oshie's tears made it impossible not to be happy for the Capitals. I didn't want to see a fellow long-suffering team leave the Canucks behind but damn, those guys have been through a lot.
It's utterly appropriate that Ovi should be the first Russian captain ever to hoist the Stanley Cup. He was also a deserving winner of the Conn Smythe—especially when Evgeny Kuznetsov had a quiet night in Game 5, with just one assist.
And Lars Eller just skyrocketed up the pantheon of Danish hockey legends—the Dane ever to win a Cup and with the winning goal, to boot! Just weeks after they hosted such a successful World Championship, it'll be another great moment for Danish hockey when Eller brings the Cup to his homeland for the first time ever.
Lately, all the talk has been about how Winnipeg is the model team for drafting and developing your way to a championship, but Washington has also been on that path for the last 15 years.
All that prospect depth is the reason why they thought it was OK to trade Filip Forsberg (11th overall in 2012) for Martin Erat back in 2013. The plan took five years longer than they hoped, but they did end up winning a Cup before Nashville. So it all worked out?
There was lots of talk this year about how the Caps got an injection of energy from playing their kids like Jakub Vrana, Christian Djoos and Chandler Stephenson, but it's also worth noting that not one player from their last three draft classes has played a game for them yet. Vrana is their youngest pick to have more than 10 NHL games and he came out of the 2014 draft, taken seven spots after the Canucks picked Jake Virtanen.
The Caps are making their way back to Washington today to share their win with a fanbase that has been on a road that looks mighty familiar to Canucks fans. I hope they enjoy every moment.
What better place than Vegas to celebrate the win?
Ovi will be re-living some sweet memories when he circles back in two weeks' time to collect his seventh career Rocket Richard trophy at the 2018 NHL Awards.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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