CAPITALS, OVECHKIN WIN FIRST STANLEY CUP
With the Stanley Cup to his right and the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP on his left, Alex Ovechkin said it felt like he was dreaming.
But he wasn’t — the Washington Capitals, after all the heartbreak, were finally champions.
Lars Eller scored with 7:37 left in regulation as Washington stormed back from a 3-2 deficit in the third period to defeat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 on Thursday and take best-of-seven final 4-1 for the Capitals’ first Cup.
“It means everything,” said Ovechkin, who scored his 15th goal of the post-season in the second period. “This moment, we’ve been waiting a long, long time.”
They certainly have. Washington’s 32-year-old workhorse had never been out of the second round of the playoffs before this spring, often unfairly portrayed as the poster boy for the Capitals’ post-season failures.
The franchise itself hadn’t made the third round since getting swept by the Detroit Red Wings in 1998 — its only other appearance in a final — and had failed to win a title in its 44 years of existence.
That’s all in the past now. “We fight through it,” Ovechkin said. “We worked so hard.”
The victory was also sweet for Washington head coach Barry Trotz, who had the most wins of any bench boss in NHL history (762) without having his name engraved on the Cup before Thursday.
He also doesn’t have a contract for next season.
“I approached the whole year the same way,” said Trotz, who added he believes he has a future in Washington. “I got some clarity in my own thought process and just calmed everything down. I’ve done lots of good things in my life, and I will continue to do that. So I wasn’t getting consumed with what was said or what my future holds. I’m in a pretty good spot.”
On the Cup-clinching goal, Eller was also in a good spot, quickest to a loose puck sitting behind MarcAndre Fleury after Brett Connolly’s deflected shot squeezed through the Vegas goalie for his seventh of the playoffs.
The Knights tried to write one more chapter in their improbable expansion season, but were unable to find a way as the Capitals spilled on the ice to celebrate.
Elated fans that had travelled from Washington to Las Vegas streamed down from their seats to line the boards after the final buzzer as Ovechkin was first presented the Conn Smythe and then the Cup by commissioner Gary Bettman.
Jakub Vrana and Devante Smith-Pelly also scored for the Capitals, who got 28 saves from Braden Holtby.
Like Ovechkin, Holtby has been around for some dark days in Washington, including a loss after leading the Rangers 3-1 in the second round of the 2015 playoffs — a record fifth time the Capitals blew a 3-1 advantage — before losing at the same stage to the Pittsburgh Penguins the last two springs.
“It’s definitely special,” Holtby said. “Just watching some of my teammates lift the Cup for the first time, guys that I’ve been with here for years. We went through so much heartbreak together, I’m so proud of them. It’s an amazing feeling. I couldn’t do it with a better group of guys.”