Stanley Cup Playoff top memories shared by NHL.com

The lasting image of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs will undoubtedly be the pure joy on the face of Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin when he was handed the Stanley Cup by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman following Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena on June 7.

The moment capped an incredible run by the Capitals and ended an eight-week marathon of playoff hockey that saw the Vegas Golden Knights stun the world by reaching the Final in their first season, the two-time defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins eliminated by the Capitals in the second round, as well as cities like Winnipeg and Denver experience the thrill of playoff hockey for the first time in several years.
NHL.com staff writers and columnists were at all 84 games during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and they share their favorite moments from a memorable postseason.

Give me liberty, and a huge jersey

I stood on the Vegas Strip at 4:30 a.m. on April 11, more than 14 hours before the Vegas Golden Knights' first Stanley Cup Playoff game against the Los Angeles Kings, watching a crew of four
try to dress the 150-foot replica
of the Statue of Liberty in front of the New York, York Hotel and Casino in a 6,000-square-foot, 620-pound Vegas jersey. They failed in gusty winds, their crane-suspended basket twirling wildly. So I came back to the same spot at the same hour two days later when that crew, plus another of four, got the job done. I never imagined that Lady Liberty would still be wearing that jersey two months later during the Stanley Cup Final. -- Dave Stubbs, columnist

'Hot lap' starts historic run

It began when Capitals forward Jay Beagle was eager to get the morning skate started on April 17, so
he took a full-speed lap around the rink
while his teammates cheered him on. The Capitals lost at home in overtime in the first two games of Eastern Conference First Round against the Columbus Blue Jackets, but their luck changed that night in Game 3 at Nationwide Arena when the puck bounced in off Lars Eller's leg 9:00 into the second overtime to give them
a 3-2 victory
. Beagle did what became known as the "hot lap" again before the morning skate for Game 4 and the Capitals won again. The practice continued for every road game, and after each road loss (the Capitals went 10-3 on the road), it was passed on: first to Alex Ovechkin, then to coach Barry Trotz and finally to Eller, who scored the Cup-winning goal in Game 5 of the Final against the Vegas Golden Knights. -- Tom Gulitti, staff writer

Guentzel's four-goal performance

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jake Guentzel is still four months shy of his 24th birthday, but he's already proved to be a heck of a performer in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The one that stood out this postseason was Guentzel's four-goal game against the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Wells Fargo Center. Guentzel, who had 13 goals in 25 playoff games in 2017 in the Penguins' run to the Stanley Cup, scored four straight goals in an 8-5 win on April 22 that sent Pittsburgh to the second round.
Guentzel had 21 points (10 goals, 11 assists) in 12 games this postseason; he has 42 points in 37 games over the past two. -- Brian Compton, deputy managing editor

Whiteout hits new heights in Winnipeg

The whiteout had already made headlines with the Winnipeg Jets returning to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. But with a chance to eliminate the Minnesota Wild
at home in Game 5 of the Western Conference First Round
on April 20, attendance surged at the outdoor viewing party on Donald Street next to Bell MTS Place. The Winnipeg Police Service estimated that 20,000 people showed up to the party on the finest day of spring to that point. Temperatures in Winnipeg surpassed 60 degrees for the first time in April and fans, including the 15,321 inside, were treated to four Jets goals in the first 11:59 of the game,
an eventual 5-0 victory
that clinched Winnipeg's first NHL playoff series victory in 31 years. The party atmosphere and rising passion for the Jets further demonstrated the fans' level of investment in their team. -- Tim Campbell, staff writer

Colorado comeback

The Colorado Avalanche were longshots to defeat the Presidents' Trophy-winning Nashville Predators in the Western Conference First Round, but that didn't mean they were going to go quietly. After forward Nick Bonino gave the Predators a 1-0 lead with 9:42 left in the third period of Game 5 on April 20, the Avalanche, facing elimination,
scored twice in the final five minutes to win
. Forward Gabriel Landeskog tied the game 1-1 with 4:11 remaining and Sven Andrighetto scored the game-winning goal with 1:28 left. The Avalanche were eliminated two nights later in Game 6, but their Game 5 comeback was another example of how far they'd come after a dismal 2016-17 season.-- Tracey Myers, staff writer

'Guts all over the place'

Who can forget
the call by Avalanche radio announcer Marc Moser
when Andrighetto scored off a rebound with 1:28 left in the third period to break a 1-1 tie against the Predators in Game 5. "I can't believe it! This has got to be one of the gutsiest hockey clubs in the National Hockey League," he said. "Pure guts. They've got nothing but guts! Every guy with three big old cow hearts. Two pancreases. And five stomachs. Guts all over the place. I can't believe it." The Avalanche lost the series in six games but that call and that win for Colorado captured how far they've come this season. -- Mike G. Morreale, staff writer

Tragedy, triumph in Toronto

I was born in Toronto, still live in Toronto and love Toronto. And on April 23, I was as proud of my city and the people in it as I've ever been. About six hours before the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs were to face off in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference First Round at Air Canada Centre, a man driving a van veered onto a crowded sidewalk and plowed into pedestrians about 12 miles north of the arena. Ten people were killed in the incident. Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan asked himself if it would be wrong to play the game, given the tragedy. "You know what? It would have been more wrong not to play it," he decided. Outside the arena, thousands of fans gathered in Maple Leaf Square to watch on the big screen. Inside, I've never heard a crowd sing a more heartfelt version of "O Canada." It gave me tingles.
On that night, hockey was a rallying point
, a reason for a city not to give into fear. A night I'll never forget. -- Mike Zeisberger, staff writer

The wet Wheeler

During Game 3 of the Western Conference Final
on May 16, Vegas goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury reached from behind and tickled the left ear of Jets forward Blake Wheeler during a scrum. Here was Fleury in the middle of a pressure-packed situation, with people losing their heads all around him, having silly fun like a kid on a playground. It was hilarious. It also was a window into his personality and how he had learned to let it come out at the most important time of year, helping him play his best. -- Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist

Flower power

The Jets were favored to beat the Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final and the best-of-7 series was tied at 1-1
when Fleury turned the series on its ear
with a split-second flash of brilliance in the second period, stopping Mark Scheifele on back-to-back shots, including a Superman-esque save on the second shot. Vegas went on to win the game 4-2 and win the series two games later, but among all the shocking developments, none would top those back-to-back stops among the 33 saves he made that night at T-Mobile Arena. Scheifele was at the top of his game in that moment. He already had two goals in the game and would finish the playoffs with 14, which was the most in the League until Alex Ovechkin passed him in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. But in a moment of sublime skill, Fleury denied him a hat trick and the Jets the lead. -- Shawn P. Roarke, Director of Editorial

Wonder-ful game

It's not every day you get a chance to interview Wonder Woman at a hockey game, so given the chance to talk to
Washington Capitals fan Lynda Carter before Game 3
of the Stanley Cup Final on June 2, I couldn't pass it up. Carter, who starred as Wonder Woman on the ABC series from 1975-79, and her son met me in a club at Capital One Arena, and they couldn't have been nicer or more into the Capitals. Their enthusiasm for the Capitals' Stanley Cup run was over the top and captured the spirit of a city that could taste its first title since the Redskins won the Super Bowl after the 1991 NFL season. The entire experience of my first game at Capital One Arena was incredible, made even more special by meeting Carter.-- Bill Price, Editor-in-Chief

D.C. rocks

Being at Capital One Arena for Game 5
of the Stanley Cup Final on June 7 was a remarkable experience. The buzz inside and outside the arena, before and during the game, was unreal.

Scott Knuth had his lawn chair set up on G Street across from the arena at 2:15 p.m. Caden D'Amore got to celebrate his eighth birthday a day early when his mom and dad, Shelley and Dean, flew with him from Syracuse, New York, to watch their favorite team.

And there was Jason Robertson, who celebrated on the floor after the final horn. He wore a No. 18 jersey with "Finally" on the back in memory of his father, Joe, who was the 1 millionth Capitals fan at Cap Centre but who died May 10. "We had a little ringer up there pulling for us," he said.-- Adam Kimelman, deputy managing editor

Oshie's emotional family celebration

Sports is about family. It's about fathers and sons and daughters and backyard hockey and growing up. It's about sharing accomplishments with the ones who have always been there. No scene from the Stanley Cup Playoffs exemplified that more than when Washington forward T.J. Oshie and his dad, Tim Oshie,
grasped the Stanley Cup together and lifted
, raising the trophy as one after the Capitals won Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena on June 7. It was a poignant moment for Oshie to share with his father, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2012 and whose memory is slipping. But T.J. Oshie said, fighting back the tears that would not stop coming, "I think this one's going to be seared in there. I don't think any disease is going to take this one away from him." -- Amalie Benjamin, staff writer

Ovechkin, Backstrom skate together with Cup

You knew it was going to happen -- the handoff from Alex Ovechkin, who received the Stanley Cup first from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, to Nicklas Backstrom
after Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final
on June 7. No two Capitals' players have experienced more heartbreak, more disappointment, more criticism in the past 11 years. Always good, never good enough. Not anymore. This was their moment, the handoff that led into a two-man skate, Ovechkin and Backstrom, holding the Stanley Cup together. It was easy to see through the years how badly they wanted to win, how much it hurt when they didn't. That skate together, the two of them and the Stanley Cup, that was 11 years in the making. It was perfect. -- Dan Rosen, senior writer