Today is the seven-year anniversary of the Washington Capitals winning the franchise’s first Stanley Cup
Seven years ago today, the Washington Capitals lifted the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history. The 43-year drought was ended after the Caps secured a 4-3 win over the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena in Game 5 of the 2018 Stanley Cup Final.
To mark the anniversary, the Capitals posted a graphic on their social media accounts of the Cup with overlayed images of captain Alex Ovechkin and the rest of the 2018 Caps celebrating their emotional victory.
The Capitals reached hockey nirvana in Vegas on June 7, 2018, on the back of goals from Ovechkin, Jakub Vrana, Devante Smith-Pelly, and Lars Eller. Braden Holtby made 28 saves in Washington’s net, securing his 16th victory of the postseason after initially starting the first round as backup to Philipp Grubauer.
After a scoreless first frame, Ovechkin and Vrana struck at the 6:24 and 10:14 marks of the second period to give the Capitals a 2-1 lead. The Golden Knights then responded with two goals of their own from David Perron and Reilly Smith to put them in front.
With just 10:08 left in the third period, DSP’s now classic goal set the Capitals up for a classic finish as he made a diving effort to put a puck past Golden Knights netminder Marc-Andre Fleury and tie the game back up. The ultra-clutch tally was DSP’s seventh goal of the postseason and cemented him as a DC sports cult hero.
Less than three minutes after DSP tied the game 3-3, Lars Eller found himself all alone in front of a yawning Golden Knights cage after a Brett Connolly shot beat Fleury but didn’t have enough momentum to cross the goal line. The Tiger slammed home the eventual game-winning tally and sent Capitals fandom into sheer bedlam.
With the Cup-winning goal, Eller became the first-ever Danish player to lift the NHL’s most storied trophy.
The Capitals clung onto the lead Eller provided through a bizarre, heart-stopping clock malfunction and Vegas’ final push, where they recorded every shot in the game for the rest of regulation after going down a goal.
Then the clock hit zero.
Ovechkin finally hoisted the Stanley Cup over his head after 12 seasons with the organization that made him the first overall draft selection in 2004.
The Great Eight paraded Lord Stanley’s Cup around the ice before handing it off to his closest running mate for most of those seasons, Nicklas Backstrom.
Ovechkin would also earn the Conn Smythe Trophy as the postseason’s MVP after recording 27 points (15g, 12a) in 24 playoff games.
TJ Oshie would hold up the Cup with his father Tim in an emotional moment when families were let onto the ice.
Happy Cupiversary!
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