Tom Wilson, decked in a sharp grey suit, stood smiling outside the visitor's locker room late Monday night at PPG Paints Arena. Walking past him, Nicklas Backstrom -- sporting a cast on on his likely-broken right hand -- gave a nod toward his teammate.
They knew. They knew what this win meant for Washington, for its hockey club and its captain. Even if Alex Ovechkin wasn't quite ready to admit that.
"We look forward, we don't look back," Ovechkin said.
But how could he not?
The Capitals beat the Penguins 2-1 in overtime in Game 6 on Monday night, finally slaying the dragon in their nightmares and they did it despite the sizable absences of Wilson and Backstrom to suspension and injury, and that's to say nothing of Andre Burakovsky, who missed the entire series. If you're counting, that's half of their top six forwards.
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When Evgeny Kuznetsov raced down on a clear breakaway just 5:27 into the extra session, he carried with him nearly a quarter century of postseason frustration against the Penguins, a team that had ended their season each of the previous two springs.
Ovechkin -- the poster child of this most-tortured franchise -- had just one thought racing through his mind: "Please score. Just f---ing, please, score,” he told NBC's Pierre McGuire.
"I wanted to pass the puck, I should shoot right away probably," Kuznetsov said, relaying his thought process. "I'm glad it's over in a positive way."
Nope, he didn't pass. He did this, beating Matt Murray through his five-hole, just as he did on the game-tying goal in the Capitals win in Game 5. The Russian who scored the first goal just 17 seconds into this series on another breakaway, also ended it:
And as he did Sunday in Washington, Kuznetsov broke into this gad-awful bird dance that would make Morris Day cringe.
"It's pretty hard to speak," Kuznetsov was saying, still a little out of breath. "I'm not expecting myself to score game-winner in that situation. When you score, you feel humble."
When you win, hey, dance like nobody's watching. And it wasn't just that the Capitals won -- becoming the first D.C. major pro sports team to reach a conference final in 20 years -- it was who they beat and how they did it.
In Game 6, they dressed two rookies -- Nathan Walker and Travis Boyd -- who were making their playoff debuts, as Kuznetsov was saying:
It was just the second time in 12 postseason meetings that the Capitals have beaten the Penguins and the first time in 24 years.
This time they ended the Penguins' bid at three straight Stanley Cup championships, after losing to Pittsburgh in this same round in 2016 and '17 despite winning the Presidents Trophy in each. That frustration, said Barry Trotz, helped fuel this year's unlikely run.
"It comes from sort of the pain and suffering of the past that's made them stronger, more resilient and more determined and more committed and more focused and whatever it is. It did it," the 55-year-old coach said. "We beat the Pittsburgh Penguins. They're a helluva hockey team. We're only halfway. We haven't done anything yet. It's a good feeling getting by the Penguins, there's a lot of skeletons in the closet. It's a start."
In eliminating the Penguins, the Capitals finally dismissed a few tired narratives about two of their key components:
• Like the one about how Ovechkin was a playoff underachiever. The Capitals captain had three goals and three assists in the series, including the primary helper on Kuznetsov's game-winner. The greatest goal-scorer of his generation now has 105 points in 109 career playoff games.
"Emotional time for our fans and for our organization," he said. "Nobody believed in us but we beat the Stanley Cup champions and we'll move forward."
• Like the other about how the Penguins were "in the head" of goalie Braden Holtby. Apparently not. He wasn't just the better goalie in the series, he was the best player. Holtby, who stopped 21 more shots on Monday to give him a 2.33 goals-against average in the series, doesn't believe he's exorcized any demons though:
He isn't satisfied with beating just Pittsburgh, though.
"I think us as a group, we want to give our city more from a playoff standpoint," he said. "But more doesn't mean a conference final. More means the Stanley Cup."
Indeed, the Capitals are only halfway to hoisting the franchise's first Stanley Cup. They will next meet the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Final, where they will undoubtedly be huge underdogs.
Along with Ovechkin and Backstrom, Jay Beagle is among the longest-tenured Capitals. He also played in the 2009 series between the Penguins and Capitals. I asked him if beating Pittsburgh was extra-special:
But, like Ovechkin, he too was looking forward and not at the now former champions.
Trotz? He had other plans.
"I’m just going to digest this right now," he said. "I’m probably going to have a cold one ... or two and enjoy this."
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Penguins vs. Capitals, PPG Paints Arena, May 7, 2018. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS