Good Monday morning Caps fans, happy July — June really flew by, huh? Hope you all are having a lovely Canada Day as well and that your holiday celebrations are well underway.

It was a wild one on Saturday night at BC Place. A nightmare start gave way to a burst of Brian White goals and the Caps eventually saw out a 4-3 win over a depleted St. Louis City side in a match where the Caps wound up being good value for keeping the three points in Vancouver.

There was plenty of well-earned frustration to be sure after the Caps went 2-0 down and the grumbling targeted the defensive unit and Vanni Sartini’s lineup decisions — all reasonable. But you felt St. Louis was extraordinarily fortunate to score a deflected goal from distance and an extraordinarily harsh penalty on Javain Brown.

Sure, the Caps had some fortune when it came to a deflected goal of their own. And Brian White may or may not have meant his rainbow flick worldie to tie the match up. But if Levonte Johnson could finish, the Caps would have been well out of sight in this one even before their second half surge.

Surely we know enough by now not to doubt Brian White. You can say he got a bit fortunate but I would counter with the simple fact that great strikers put themselves in the position to get lucky in the first place. And his header on the third goal was class, fueled by some excellent Ryan Raposo service.

White hasn’t quite been himself in awhile but this was exactly the type of game he needed to find a bit more space and get his confidence back. With the Caps’ attacking options likely to evolve over the summer, White has to be a mainstay and his hat trick will give him some much needed momentum.

I don’t mean to be too harsh on Levonte Johnson, who will get lots of stick for missing a couple of high quality chances in the first 45 minutes. But at a time when the attacking depth is basically non-existent, he came on and did his job of charging down the opposition and getting some decent looks.

Johnson has the raw skills to be a decent MLS piece — we’ve seen it at times this season. And we know he can score against Canadian Premier League-level opposition. But at some point he needs to take that step in league play. He is, in some respect, the anti-Simon Becher: a guy who contributes to the attack in every way except for finishing.

The problem is, if the Caps do wind up selling Fafa Picault, they will in effect be placing a lot of pressure on Johnson to replace his considerable attacking production, including a goal on Saturday. That might be asking a lot of a guy who doesn’t seem to be a finished product. But, much like with Becher, it is possible necessity will be the mother of invention and more consistent looks could help Johnson out. Or he’ll wind up being a CPL-level attacker. It seems like we’re about to find out.

The win was a vital one against a St. Louis side who have left a lot to be desired this season. It also sets up a six pointer with Minnesota United on Wednesday, which is a big opportunity for Vancouver to further their efforts of climbing back up the Western Conference standings.

Shameless Self Promotion

Our dispatch from BC Place on White’s hat trick, the Caps’ comeback and whether this is the sign of a turnaround

Best of the Rest

The Whitecaps 2 side continued their tear, notching a sixth-straight win on the back of an Eliot Goldthorp hat trick. That sees them up to third in the MLS NEXT Pro West.

Canada got a draw against a 10 man Chile side on Saturday, the result they needed to punch their ticket into a winnable quarterfinal match.

Some good news for the Caps — Paraguay has been eliminated from Copa America contention after a 4-1 loss to Brazil that saw Andres Cubas sent off. Unclear if the red card will mean he’s back any sooner, however.

Atlanta United’s Jamal Thiare scored the wildest winner you will ever see against a down bad Toronto FC on Saturday night