Subban for Weber by far worse.

Lol...yup. That’s certainly fair.

not sure if serious

Most NHL players have replacement teeth. They just don't wear them during the game for what I would think are obvious reasons.

From the OP

Right for once!

Haha, you’ve been the premier Ovechkin trollmeister ITT for years.

What a night.

Congrats to known pizdas Muresan, sylar, and Nootka!

Get some beers, get some whatever.

Great outcome for hockey. Ovie and Washington get a cup..finally.

Vegas Knights get a good taste of success, but don't go away with unrealistic expectations on the path to the Stanley Cup. I am with those who think that a 1st year win would not have been great for Vegas in the long-run.

It also is really great to hear about all the Vegas folks who are learning/loving hockey.

I know they are getting the Raiders, but the Knights will always hold a special spot for the residents, even though the NFL >>> NHL in the US. As several sports fans from Vegas have pointed out, the Raiders are a transient team that is landing in Vegas. The Knights, on the hand, will always and only belong to Vegas. It is truly "their" team.

Done and done! Love hearing from the old-timers.

Yeah this is super true.

It's cool watching you guys cheer for your teams year in and year out. I can legit feel how big a day/week/year this is for you. Well deserved.

I guess next I'm rooting for Blues fans in here. Maaaaaaybe Canucks one day, maybe. Sens, I'll give you one too.

Leafs and Habs though, sorry. May you never win a cup again, and may you all get bent

Now it’s all about the draft and then free agency...training camps aren’t that far away...

It's not the fans that cause HFA has to do with sleep and travel for athletes.

it all varies by sport, obv


but whatever effects are of the greatest of significance as it relates to the NHL, it doesn't seem to be much of thing
(at least less than it once was, i think)

to your point, travel & accommodations etc have dramatically improved

Feel bad for all the lifelong golden knights fans who've never seen their team host a cup.

Can't feel bad it was to a guy who earned it tho.

yep, wtg Backstrom

Game 5 Report

I'm 37 years old and have been a Caps fan since I was 6. Grew up in NW DC and NOVA. My first game was an 8-4 victory over the NY Rangers. Mike Gartner scored twice for the Caps. I remember it vividly. I was 7 years old.

I was there when Darren Van Impe scored in overtime for the Bruins in Game 2 in the 1998 playoffs. The Caps would bounce back to take the series in 6 games, Brian Bellows scoring in OT in Boston.

I was there when Todd Krygier scored in overtime of Game 2 to beat Buffalo that year in the ECF. This was the infamous game in which Dominik Hasek threw his blocker at Peter Bondra, garnering a penalty.

When Joe Juneau scored what had then been the biggest goal in Caps history, the goal that beat Buffalo in OT in Game 6, I was at a bar called The Rock, across the street from the Verizon Center, dancing on a bar stool as we celebrated the Caps first ever Cup appearance. I was only 17 years old but the bar didn't check IDs. My friend and I drove to the Caps' practice facility, called Piney Orchard in Odenton, MD to greet the team. There were a ton of people. I got onto the ice and slid across it on my stomach and cut my hand open. My friend spoke to Richard Zednik as he was getting into his fat Mercedes.

I didn't get to go to any of the games against Detroit that year. Our season ended mercifully in 4 games--I couldn't even watch that game because it was the night of my high school graduation.

I was there in 2008 when Joffrey Lupul scored in overtime to win the series for the Flyers. You could hear a pin drop.

I snuck into the Winter Classic on 1/1/15. Yes, I snuck in with one of my friends who was at Game 5 in Vegas with me. The sneaking in is a story for another time.

Anyway, I feel like we have been through a lot as Caps fans. Right after Game 7 against Tampa, a couple friends and I talked about going to Las Vegas to see a game. I was going there anyway, having rented a house for six weeks for the WSOP. I was supposed to leave May 30th, but delayed my trip by a week so I could attend Game 3 in DC. That was a great time, as you can imagine. We got them through the presale. Our tickets were only $530 each, great for a Finals game in a city that has never won the Cup.

So I headed to Las Vegas on Tuesday the 5th. One of my friends was arriving from DC the next day and a third friend was coming into town from Seattle (we all grew up in DC on the Caps). On Wednesday night, two of us were on Fremont Street while talking to the other, looking for tickets on Stubhub. We finally bought tickets for $910 each. Two of us were in Section 202, on the goal line where the Caps shot twice. The other was with one of his friends in 104.

I thought both teams looked a big sluggish in the first--not much intensity. Then Vrana finally got it all started. What a crazy second period. My favorite goal of these playoffs was DSP's equalizer with about 10:30 left in the 3rd. The way he kicked the puck to his stick was a thing of beauty. After Lars Eller scored to put us ahead, I knew these would be the longest seven and a half minutes of my life.

With about two minutes left my friend and I scrambled down to the lower bowl. I think I was the first person around me to notice the clock malfunction. Home team riggage? Anyway, the game finally ended, I was jumping up and down like a madman. I had waited about 31 years for this! We ran down to the glass and were not given much flak by Vegas fans (a bunch of them congratulated us) or ushers. Watching Ovechkin be presented the Cup was something I'll never forget.

We hung out in the lower bowl for a long time (maybe 90 minutes) until the ushers finally told us we had to leave. The ice was swarmed by everyone associated with the team (and the players' families) at this point. The four of us ate at a deli in New York, New York and made plans to go to Hakkasan at MGM, the nightclub where we had heard the team would be.

We waited in line for over an hour but got in for free. The place is huge and extremely loud and crowded. We were on a balcony and in the distance we could see the team and the Cup. We resolved to get closer, and we did. At one point we were about 20 feet from the team but there was a lot of security. Jakub Vrana was standing on a table and partying and dancing and having the time of his life. Alex Ovechkin and his wife walked right past me and I was able to snap a quick photo with my phone.

This report has gotten long enough. I will post photos later when I have more time. Maybe tomorrow.

Nice report. Looking forward to seeing the pictures.

Thanks. Where would be a good place to host the photos?

Imgur.com

https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/5...e-more-285800/

How to post pictures, embed videos, change avatars, turn off Tapatalk signature, and more

Dope. Congrats CJD!

Congrats Caps fans.... About time