LAS VEGAS _ This time, the Washington Capitals didn't fold. They banished the memories of decades of playoff failures on Thursday by winning their first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history, rallying in the third period for a 4-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights to win the Final in five games.
Former Duck Devante Smith-Pelly, who salvaged his career this season after his inconsistency threatened to end it, continued his consistent postseason goalscoring by tying the game at 3 at 9:52 of the third period at T-Mobile Arena. Lars Eller provided the winner, getting behind Vegas goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to convert a rebound at 12:23 of the third period.
The Golden Knights had been enjoying an improbable season, winning the Pacific division title in their first season and following that with a sweep of the Kings, a six-game elimination of San Jose and a surprising five-game Western Conference final triumph over Winnipeg. They won the hearts of their fans by quickly becoming a part of their new community and, in their first home game after the concert shootings last Oct. 1, paid a heartfelt and dignified tribute to the victims. Their relationship with their fans became intense and strong.
But Washington, deep in star power and fortified by a mental toughness that previous Capitals teams had lacked, proved too solid defensively and too resolute for the Golden Knights to continue their improbable story. Standout Washington winger Alex Ovechkin set a team record by scoring 15 goals in the playoffs and center Evgeny Kuznetsov led all playoff scorers with 32 points.
At the end players flung their sticks and gloves in the air and celebrated, hugging one another while the disconsolate Golden Knights looked on. However, it might have been the final game for Washington coach Barry Trotz, who is not under contract for next season. For now, though, their focus is on celebrating the first title for a franchise that entered the NHL in 1974 and had made the Cup Final only once before, in 1998, and was swept by Detroit.
Ovechkin, the first Russian player to be the captain of a Cup-winning team, was named the winner of the Conn Smythe trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs.
The Capitals' success undoubtedly sparked mixed emotions from Vegas general manager George McPhee, who was the Capitals' general manager for 17 years and put in place many of the players who lifted the Cup on Thursday and passed it from eager hand to eager hand. McPhee was replaced by Brian MacLellan, his former college and NHL teammate, who applied the finishing touches to the roster and found just enough youth and grit to propel the Capitals to the Cup. Their playoff path this season was strewn with obstacles from the start: they lost the first two games of their first-round series against Columbus (and in fact trailed in all four rounds) and switched starting goaltenders in the third game of that opening-round series. After that, Braden Holtby was in command, and so were the Capitals.
Neither team scored in the first period on Thursday. In the second period the Capitals killed off a penalty against Christian Djoos rather easily _ the Golden Knights weren't credited with any shots on goal _ and then created a scoring chance that again exposed Vegas' flaws on defense.
Vegas' Deryk Englelland had taken a shot at Holtby but it went wide, caroming off the glass and around the corner. Kuznetsov corralled it and sent Vrana in on a breakaway, with Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb vainly trying to catch him. Vrana went high and beat Fleury at 6:24 of the second period, deflating the hopes of the nervous crowd.
But once the Capitals broke through, the scoring pace became frantic, and the second period ended with the Golden Knights holding a 3-2 lead.
Vegas pulled even at 1 at 9:40, when Reilly Smith set up defenseman Nate Schmidt for a shot that struck the foot of Washington defenseman Matt Niskanen and past Holtby. Washington regained the lead at 10:14, during a power play, when Alex Ovechkin scored from his "office" in the left circle. But the Golden Knights weren't finished. Defenseman Colin Miller set up Tomas Tatar for a shot with David Perron in front, jostling with Capitals defenseman Christian Djoos. Perron was taken down by Djoos, and ended up in the net with the puck. The Capitals challenged the goal on the basis of goaltender interference, because Perron had clearly made contact with Holtby, but the NHL ruled that Perron's contact was caused by Djoos' having wrestled him down.
Ovechkin was sent to the penalty box for tripping at 17:46 and the Golden Knights capitalized on it to take a 3-2 lead. Holtby made a save on a long shot by Shea Theodore but the rebound bounced to Vegas forward Alex Tuch. He passed it to Smith, who scored from deep on the left side at 19:31.
Smith-Pelly scored his seventh playoff goal _ matching his total for all of the regular season _ to bring Washington even at 3. Defenseman Brooks Orpik barely kept the puck in the zone and took a shot on net that was deflected by a Vegas player. Smith-Pelly got to the flipping puck and, while falling, swatted it past Fleury at 9:52 of the third period.
