LAS VEGAS -- Evgeny Kuznetsov released the puck. Brayden McNabb, a defenseman for the Vegas Golden Knights, smashed him against the boards with a forceful check. The Washington Capitals center's left arm was pinned against his body, and he held it gingerly as he fell to the ice and left for the trainers' room with 5:18 remaining in the first period of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final.
In postseason failures of yore, this would have been the moment when it all unraveled for Washington. He's the Capitals' No.