Washington to play for Cup
Ovechkin and Burakovsky lead Washington to first title series since 1998.
Capitals beat Tampa Bay 4-0 to reach Final for the first time in 20 years.
WASHINGTON 4 TAMPA BAY 0
TAMPA, Fla. — Alex Ovechkin lifted the Prince of Wales Trophy, spun around and set it back down on a table.
The rest of the Capitals joined him for a team photo after beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-0 on Wednesday night in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final, a victory that sent Washington to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 20 years.
A decade of playoff frustration is fading fast.
“I think Ovie has been on a mission,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. “They wanted this game, no question.”
Ovechkin scored early and Andre Burakovsky added two second-period goals as the Capitals continued to shed a label as postseason underachievers.
Braden Holtby stopped 29 shots for his second straight shutout and the Lightning, who led the NHL in goals during the regular season, failed to score in the last 159 minutes 27 seconds of the series — a stretch of nearly eight periods.
Ovechkin, who had never advanced beyond the second round, scored 1:02 into the winner-take-all showdown he had described as probably the “biggest game in my life.”
“The first goal was very important,” Ovechkin said. “After that you could see we have all the momentum on our side. Holts was unstoppable today. He was special. Everybody was all in. Everybody was sacrificing their bodies. I think we all deserve the win.”
To earn a spot in the Stanley Cup Final, where they’ll play the Vegas Golden Knights, the Capitals beat the top-seeded Lightning three times on the road, improving to 8-2 away from home this postseason.
It’s Washington’s first Cup Final appearance since 1998, and the first during Ovechkin’s 13-year career.
“We played a great game,” defenseman John Carlson said. “We deserved to win this.”
Two games after being a healthy scratch for Game 5, Burakovsky became the 17th player to score a goal for Washington in the playoffs this year — four shy of the NHL record — when he beat Andrei Vasilevskiy in the second period.