"The Stack" 6-5-18
T.J. Oshie was all over the ice delivering big hits and scoring the first goal in the game on the power play as the Washington Capitals routed the Vegas Golden Knights 6-2 to take a 3-1 series lead.
The Stack is back on this Tuesday and unfortunately for tennis fans and French Open fans, Serena Williams is out of the French Open due to a pectoral injury meaning that Maria Sharapova advances. We have other things to get to today though including the Capitals being one win away from hoisting the Stanley Cup so let’s get right to “the stack” for today, Tuesday, June 5th:
Capitals rout Golden Knights, now one win away from Stanley Cup
Game four of the Stanley Cup Final was close for the first ten minutes. After that it was all Washington. The Capitals scored three goals in the last ten minutes of the first period to take a 3-0 lead. T.J. Oshie started the scoring with a power play goal and Devante Smith-Pelley scored the final goal of the period on a pretty play off of a deflection. The puck went from his skate to his stick to the back of the net. It was a thing of beauty. Vegas had a number of chances in the second period, but hit a crossbar and a goalpost and just couldn’t corral the puck enough to get a lot of great shots on net. John Carlson scored a power play goal in the second period and though the Golden Knights scored two goals in the third period to cut the lead to 4-2, they never were really in it. Things got chippy towards the end of the period with multiple players getting thrown out. The Capitals scored a late power play goal to really get under Vegas’ skin. Vegas tried to send a message. We’ll see if they can force a game six back in D.C. by winning game five Thursday night.
Trump pulls Super Bowl invite from Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles were supposed to visit the White House tomorrow to celebrate their Super Bowl championship. That will no longer happen after the President cancelled the celebration because, “The Philadelphia Eagles are unable to come to the White House with their full team to be celebrated tomorrow [Tuesday]…” The anthem also plays a role in this though it is worth noting that no Eagles players kneeled for the national anthem this past season. It is also worth noting though that multiple Eagles players have taken issue with Trump’s stance on the national anthem and the NFL. Reports also indicate that only a small number of players (one player estimated under ten) would actually go to Super Bowl anyway. Philadelphia’s mayor had some choice words for Trump. This issue isn’t going away anytime soon for the NFL, but the move by Trump is rather unprecedented and frankly unbecoming. None of this should be surprising though. The Golden State Warriors chose not to go to the White House last year after winning the NBA Finals. I have a feeling that the Eagles won’t be the last team to have an invitation revoked and the Warriors won’t be the last team to choose not to go.
Dwight Clark passes away
Legendary San Francisco 49ers receiver Dwight Clark has lost his battle with ALS. Clark died Monday at the age of 61 his wife Kelly confirmed. Dwight is most famous for “The Catch” when he snatched the ball out of midair seemingly out of nowhere on a pass from Joe Montana to help lift the 49ers to a 28-27 win over the Dallas Cowboys in the 1982 NFC Championship game. It is an iconic moment in NFL history, one that NFL Films captured perfectly. RIP Dwight. Thoughts and prayers to Dwight Clark’s family and friends and former teammates.
Coming up Thursday: NBA Finals game three reaction plus a pick for game five of the Stanley Cup Final and more.
