Lars Eller. Playoff hero.
With the NHL being on hold for now, there are no new goals for me to break down every week so I will be going back in time and breaking down the game-winning goal in the Stanley Cup-clinching game from every year until I can’t find the video or hockey returns (not sure which will be first, sadly). In this edition, we flashback to the 2018 Stanley Cup Final between the 43-year-old Washington Capitals and less-than-a-year-old Vegas Golden Knights.
After dropping game one, the Caps rattled off three straight wins, thanks in large part to one of the most clutch saves of all time in Game 2. Back in Vegas for Game 5, coming off of back-to-back multi-goal wins, the Caps looked to close out the series and win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. Trailing 3-2 heading into the third, Washington looked to its unsung heroes to step up. Devante Smith-Pelly scored the tying goal just under halfway through and then, less than three minutes later, Lars Eller found a rebound that got behind Marc-Andre Fleury and buried it. Let’s break it down.

Video courtesy of the Washington Capitals
Michal Kempny begins this play with a simple dump-in behind the net. Luca Sbisa retrieves the puck but immediately misplays it and gives it up to Andre Burakovsky in the corner. That was his first mistake. Burakovsky gives it to a wide-open Brett Connolly off the bench for a one-timer from the slot the Fleury stones but doesn’t completely hold on to. Eller, who went behind the net to chase the original dump, finds it behind the Vegas netminder and bangs it home. Sbisa gets caught puck watching when Connolly takes the shot, allowing Eller to slip in behind and get inside position.
There isn’t much else Fleury, or the rest of the Knights, can do. Sbisa turned the puck over and then missed his coverage allowing Eller to get perfect positioning for the game-winning goal. The Caps won their first Stanley Cup in franchise history with a 4-3 victory in Game 5. Alex Ovechkin finally completed his quest for the cup while Eller became the first Danish-born player to hoist the most coveted trophy in sports.

John Smark