TAMPA, Fla. – None of Washington, D.C.’s four major sports teams have won a championship since 1992 (Redskins – Super Bowl XXVI). The Washington Capitals, D.C.’s hockey team, will have a chance to put the freeze on that drought.
Wednesday, the Capitals defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-0 in a winner-take-all game seven of the NHL’s Eastern Conference Final. With the victory, the Caps advance to their first Stanley Cup Final since 1998. Washington has never won a Stanley Cup Final game, much less a title.
Alex Ovechkin opened the scoring just 1:02 into the game. 8:59 into the second period, Andre Burakovsky scored his first of two goals to put the Caps ahead 2-0. His second goal of the night came with less than four minutes to play in the second period and gave Washington a 3-0 advantage.
Putting the icing on the cake, Nicklas Backstrom added a goal in the final four minutes of the third period. Braden Holtby delivered his second straight shutout in goal for the Caps.
The Capitals will face the Vegas Golden Knights, an expansion team, in the best of seven Stanley Cup Final. That series begins 8:00 p.m. Monday in Las Vegas.