Washington ousts Tampa, to duel with Vegas for Cup

Andre Burakovsky scored twice, and goalie Braden Holtby produced his second shutout in a row as the Washington Capitals advanced to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 20 years, defeating the host Tampa Bay Lightning 4-0 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday night.

Holtby made 29 saves, sending the Lightning into the offseason with a scoring drought of more than 159 minutes.

Washington meets the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final, with Game 1 on Monday night in Las Vegas.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling and we’re all excited for the next step, so let’s keep it going,” Capitals right winger Tom Wilson said.

The Capitals have reached the finals for the second time, and they are still searching for their first Stanley Cup. They lost in the 1998 finals to the Detroit Red Wings.

Alex Ovechkin opened the scoring Wednesday with an early goal and that set the tone for the Capitals, who won the final two games of the series. They posted victories in three of four games at Tampa in the series.

“I think everybody is happy, but we still have unfinished business,” said Ovechkin, an 11-time All-Star and three-time winner of the Hart Trophy, awarded to the NHL’s most valuable player. “I’m emotional. I think we’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time.”

“It’s going to take a few days to digest this,” Lightning center Steven Stamkos said. “It’s tough to sit here right now and think of positive things. It was a great, great season but it doesn’t feel that way when you’ve been here before and can’t find a way to win.”

(Reuters)