Matt Reigle
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The Golden Knights can win the Stanley Cup on Tuesday night in Las Vegas, which means they could have one of the parties to end all parties if they do. However, they’re not the first team to celebrate a Cup win in Las Vegas, and one former player says that was used as motivation.
Brooks Orpik was a member of the Washington Capitals team that defeated the Golden Knights in the 2018 Cup Final. The ex-NHL defenseman said in a recent interview that the prospect of celebrating a Cup victory in Sin City fueled the team to win Game 5 and clinch the series 4-1.
“I remember we were down going into the third period and that may have come up in between periods,” Orpik said in an appearance on The Cam & Strick Podcast, according to Caps website Russian Machine Never Breaks. “Like, ‘Hey, guys, let’s not screw this one up because we’re staying overnight here.’”
The Caps Got In One In Vegas After Winning The Cup
Orpik said that the after defeating Vegas 4-3 in Game 5 the celebrations were off to the races.
“We did something with the families at the hotel right after and then after that it was just the guys,” he explained. “It was cool, we wound up going to Hakkasan and Ovi was buddies with Tiesto and he just happened to be playing there that night. It was a good night.”
Orpik was a key piece of that team and has since gone on to join the Caps’ player development team.
Should Vegas clinch the Cup at home, expect a celebration like that. The only difference is it could be turned up the way Nigel Tufnel likes it: to 11.
Picture the boys having a night (Knight?) on the town while their fans are also celebrating. It’d be very Aaron Gordon-esque.
Additionally, the Golden Knights have already been offered lifetime VIP status to the Hustler Club. Perhaps that would be one of the stops on the celebration tour.
Again, if they seal the deal at home by beating the Florida Panthers in Game 5.
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