OPINION:
“Everybody deserves a fresh start every once in a while.”
— Bugsy Siegel, the godfather of Las Vegas.
Bugsy banked on that sucker’s motto when he built the palace in the desert, the Flamingo Hotel and Casino, in the late 1940s. He never got a chance to cash in on those “fresh starts,” knocked off supposedly by his angry mob-investor pals.
But he understood this — the only real fresh start you get in Las Vegas is when you walk in the door and play your first hand. You end up losing that night, there are few, if any, fresh starts anymore.
The “house,” as they say, is playing with house money.
Monday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the Washington Capitals had their fresh start after decades of losses, facing off in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights. And they were dealt a good, strong hand — a winning hand — scoring four goals against the wall in the net known as Marc-Andre Fleury.
But the house won, with Vegas coming away with the 6-4 win and you have to walk away from that game Monday night wondering if you’re ever going to draw as good a hand as you did in Game 1.
AUDIO: ootball star and actor Pete Koch with Thom Loverro
You lose a Stanley Cup playoff game on the road where you score four goals, you lost your opportunity. I mean, who goes back to their room in Vegas after playing good hands all night and losing with the notion that since they got close all night, the next time they’ll draw a winning hand?
Suckers, that’s who. Those who believe fresh starts are handed out like escort pamphlets on the strip.
No, what the Capitals lost Monday night was an opportunity to beat the house. It’s hard to believe they’ll get another chance, now faced with winning four of six in the best-of-seven series.
Do you know what this team’s record is during the season when they score four or more goals in regulation? It’s 34-1, the lone four-plus goal loss in regulation coming on in a 7-4 loss to Pittsburgh on Feb. 2.
The last time Washington lost a playoff game in regulation when they scored four goals? Back in 1992, a 6-4 loss to the Penguins in Game 3 of the Patrick Division semifinals. They’ve lost a total of six playoff games in regulation in their postseason history when they scored four goals in regulation in 260 postseason games.
If you are dealt a hand like that, you better win. Those opportunities are few and far in between.
And it was no fluke. There were moments that could have changed the game —the Ryan Reaves goal after knocking down John Carlson was unconscionable. But Vegas appears faster than Washington, deeper than Washington — yes, maybe better than Washington.
What I am saying is that the series may have been won or lost in Game 1.
We are down to the final games, where every game has monumental consequences. The last six teams to win Game 1 in the finals have gone on to win the Cup.
Of course, Capitals coach Barry Trotz had another point of view.
“I think there is a feeling-out process,” he told reporters after the game. “I don’t know if we played their game. There were parts of the game I didn’t like, the way we managed pucks and stuff. I thought we had a good response most times. They had the first goal and the crowd was into it. I didn’t like the first part of the second period, but after that I thought we responded a little bit better.”
Then he sounded like every sucker who has come away from a Vegas table having lost with good hands.
“I think as a whole we can play a lot better, that’s exciting to me,” he said. “I know we got another level in our game. It’s going to be a whole roster. They got contributions from the bottom part of their roster in their third and fourth lines. Their big line is good and they had a response there. I expect us to have a response. We got more to our game.”
I’m not sure they do, or at least I suspect if they have more to their game, Vegas won’t let Washington show it. The Golden Knights have been playing with house money all season. Monday night, the Capitals had a chance to beat the house — and blew it.
⦁ Thom Loverro’s “Cigars & Curveballs” podcast is available Wednesdays on iTunes, Google Play and the reVolver podcast network.
• Thom Loverro can be reached at tloverro@washingtontimes.com.
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