-First of all, congrats on being on the cover
of "Sports Illustrated."
Sorry, Braden, but Alex got this one.
[ Cheers and applause ] -Thank you. Thank you.
-Is that exciting for you?
Do you think about, like -- I don't know --
growing up and going, "Well, I never thought of me
on the cover of 'Sports Illustrated'
with the Stanley Cup"?
-Yeah, it's something pretty cool, you know?
-Yeah. Good-looking guy. Why not?
[ Laughter ]
-I know you're good-looking. Exactly, yeah.
Smile for me. I just love that right there.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Yeah, exactly. That is what I'm talking about.
Dude, you're a beast out there, man.
It's unbelievable. But you've been playing for --
What is it -- in the NHL for 13, 14?
-13. -13 years.
Does it feel -- Are you relieved to finally win the Stanley Cup?
-Yeah, you know,
you work so hard, like, to get this moment,
and when you reach this moment,
you still, like, can't believe it.
-I've seen videos of you guys celebrating nonstop,
which you should.
I would do the same thing if I were you. And it's great.
But, also, you have really kind of cool news.
You got married, and you're expecting a child.
-Yeah. -That's -- What a great year.
[ Cheers and applause ] -Thank you.
-A great year to be you.
-Yeah. Yeah. It's a great year. Great year.
-It's great year to be you.
And, Braden, again, there's always next month.
But you know what I'm saying?
I don't know how you do it.
It's like -- I don't know if you can appreciate what you do.
But as a goalie, watching you, it's like -- FFT! FFT! FFT!
Dude, you're saving everything. Nothing gets in.
I mean, you have to have confidence
that you have this guy on your team.
But they all -- I mean, it's a lot of pressure on you, as well.
-Yeah, I don't know.
I usually just close my eyes, hope for the best.
-That's not true. That's not true at all. No.
But is this true?
Your mom is a famous country singer in Canada. Is that right?
-Yeah, I mean, they always laugh as the years go on.
They get more and more famous and better.
-Oh, is that right? The more the story's gone.
-But, no, I grew up with music, with my mom playing a lot.
And so it's...
-But it's part of your pregame ritual, right?
Well, tell everyone what you do, 'cause I heard this, and I go --
Of course it's real. But what do you do?
-Yeah, we --
So, in the morning, we do our meetings and skate and stuff.
So, we got a guitar shipped to the rink somehow,
and I played it one day,
and our Team Services guy, Rob Tillotson,
who literally holds our team together,
let me play, and we went on a 20-game unbeaten streak.
So they let me keep playing.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-When is the album coming out?
-No, that stays -- -That stays in the locker room?
-People run away when I start playing.
We do it more for good luck now. -Oh, yeah.
Well, I've seen you out
celebrating with the Stanley Cup.
You guys got together -- I don't know where this was.
Was this in D.C. yesterday?
Do you know what I'm talking about here?
[ Laughter ]
Just jumped in a fountain. I mean, look at that.
Come on. Going nuts with the fans.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Here's what I like about you,
is that you're celebrating with the fans.
You're celebrating with the crowd.
You're not, like, on a yacht somewhere
just going, "Yeah. That's right. We won."
You're actually bringing it back to D.C.
and down to actually your fans and celebrating with those guys.
That's pretty cool that you guys do that,
'cause you get to share it with everybody,
and they're all proud of you. -Yeah.
I heard that you brought the Stanley Cup with you tonight
and that we might have a drink out of it?
Is that true? -Yeah, let's do it.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-Come on.
♪♪
Oh, my gosh. Wow!
This is it. Look at that. That's a thing of beauty.
All right, well, I'm honored to do this with you guys.
This is awesome, and I have something
that I think will make it even better.
This guy made history this weekend at the Belmont Stakes
when he and his horse, Justify, won the Triple Crown.
Please welcome one of the greatest jockeys
in horse racing.
Mike Smith, ladies and gentlemen!
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
-Thank you.
Here you are, guys.
Mike Smith! Come on!
[ Cheers and applause ]
Ovi, Braden, Mike.
I have some paper straws.
-Ohh. -There you go.
-Yeah. Let's do it like that. Civilized. Ready?
On the count of three, let's see how far we can get.
One, two, three.
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
Wait. I think --
It's taking too long. It's taking too long.
I think you know what you gotta do.
-Yeah, let's do it.
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
[ Laughter ]
My thanks to Stanley Cup champions
Alex Ovechkin, Braden Holtby...
Triple Crown winner Mike Smith!
The Smashing Pumpkins perform after the break!
Stick around, everybody! Yes!