Monday presented the Vegas Golden Knights with the opportunity to exact a small measure of revenge on the Washington Capitals.
Let’s rewind back to June. 7, 2018 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, a historic but painful night for the Vegas Golden Knights.
That was the night that the Washington Capitals finally put an end to their Championship drought, beating the Golden Knights in five games to lift the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history.
And the scenes from that night will be forever woven in the rich tapestry of hockey history.
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From the sheer relief of those Capitals players who finally ripped the monkey off their backs after years of being the nearly men, to the lavish and wild celebrations that followed, those images will forever live on.
Then there is the defining image of Alex Ovechkin standing alone in the middle of the ice at T-Mobile Arena, proudly hoisting Lord Stanley above his head after years of chasing the greatest prize in all of sports.
The postseason demons of Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals were finally slain and the Golden Knights were the backdrop for that storyline.
Of course, it was a huge surprise that Vegas had made the postseason let alone even reached the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural year, but it was still a heartbreaking night for an expansion team that was within touching distance of ultimate glory.
And, given the historic nature of that matchup and what that night meant for D.C., the Vegas Golden Knights and the Washington Capitals will forever be linked.
However, fast forward back to the present day and the Golden Knights got their own back in a small way on Monday.
Hosting the Capitals at T-Mobile Arena on Presidents’ Day, the Knights continued their stellar start to the homestand by stifling their opponents in a 3-2 win.
Nick Holden, Reilly Smith and Max Pacioretty all lit the lamp as Vegas won its third consecutive game, while Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 25 shots to hold off a late fightback from the Capitals.
And, in winning this contest, not only did the Golden Knights inflict a fifth loss in the last seven outings on the Caps, but they also avoided being associated with another slice of Washington history.
Because, for the fifth straight game, Alex Ovechkin failed to record the two goals that would have taken him to the 700 plateau.
If Ovechkin had achieved that milestone last night then not only would he have become only the eighth player in NHL history to record 700 or more goals, it would have officially started the most anticipated watch in hockey.
With at least a few years of good hockey seemingly still left in the tank, it is now a very realistic possibility that Ovechkin could reach the Great Wayne Gretzky‘s all-time record of 894 goals.
But, for now at least, the narrative will be that the Great Eight can’t quite get over the hill as he was frustrated by Marc-Andre Fleury, a goalie who has given up the most goals to Ovechkin (24 goals in 42 games) of any NHL goalie.
And, for the Vegas Golden Knights, not only did they pick up what was a huge win they also exacted a small measure of revenge for that June night in 2018 at the same scene of the crime, while ensuring that they won’t be forever associated with the Washington Capitals and Alex Ovechkin for another slice of hockey history.