Washington Capitals Convincingly Win First Stanley Cup in Franchise History

Okay, so I will write at least one more blog entry about the Stanley Cup playoffs this year, which were otherwise a disappointment.

Indeed, the Capitals came up big throughout these playoffs, overcoming a long history of underachieving and being unable to overcome one team in particular: the Pittsburgh Penguins.

This year, however, was different. This time, the Capitals not only took a decisive lead against the Penguins, but they sealed the deal, knocking them out in the second round. 

Then, they survived a tough, up and coming Tampa Bay Lightning team to qualify for their first Stanley Cup Finals in two decades. 

Still, it looked like history might repeat itself when the expansion Las Vegas Golden Knights, looking to make history as the first modern expansion team to win a championship in it's inaugural season, took Game 1, and scored a lot of goals in the process. 

If there was a moment in this series to seriously doubt Washington's ability to win and overcome a haunted past, that was it. Indeed, allowing a ton of goals in that first contest seemed not to bode well for the Caps.

After that, however, it was all Washington. They took the second game in Las Vegas, and headed home with the series tied at 1-1. 

Then, the Capitals won their first ever home game in a Stanley Cup Finals series, and you just kind of sensed that they were not going to be denied. The fans were going nuts, and the Capitals just looked like the team of destiny.

A blowout win in Game 4 gave them a commanding three games to one lead, and left Las Vegas searching desperately for answers simply to stay alive in the series.

But even though Vegas played better in Game 5, the Capitals were not going to be denied. They held off the Golden Knights, becoming the first team this season that really made them look like the expansion franchise that they are.

Now, the Capitals have won their first ever Cup. And apparently, it was just in the nick of time, because they are likely going to lose some players. This might have been the last chance for Alex Ovechkin and the other members of the Capitals who wanted to get this done, but had not been able to this point dating back quite a few years.

The Capitals are champions now, however. It is the first sports championship for a Washington based team in over a quarter of a century, when Washington won their final Super Bowl of the Joe Gibbs era against Buffalo back in the 1991-92 season.