Washington Capitals Hoist First Stanley Cup After Dramatic Win Over Vegas

Another is finally realized. "It took years. Years of heartbreak".

"It doesn't matter what happened before", Ovechkin said through his gap-toothed grin.

Ovechin, who was a force in these playoffs, now has his Cup.

"It's something special. I just wanted to do whatever I can to win the Cup and we did it", Ovechkin said.

Washington Capitals left wing Jakub Vrana, center, celebrates his goal with right wing Tom Wilson, left, and center Evgeny Kuznetsov during the second period in Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals against the Vegas Golden Knights, June 7, 2018, in Las Vegas.

Besides the Redskins, the Washington Nationals and Washington Wizards have also come up short in their quest to win a championship in recent years.

The first player Ovechkin passed the Cup to was longtime teammate Nicklas Backstrom. "I think a lot of guys feel for him in that situation". "So I got behind him and the puck just squeaks through".

Lars Eller scored with 7:37 left, giving the Capitals a 4-3 lead and they hung on after Vegas pulled goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury for the extra skater.

Players on the Golden Knights called themselves the "Golden Misfits" since the roster was comprised of mostly depth players deemed expendable by their former teams through an expansion draft that was tweaked to make the team competitive.

Smith snapped a 2-2 tie on a power play for Vegas with 28.2 seconds left in an action-packed second, taking a no-look pass from Alex Tuch after Holtby spilled Shea Theodore's point shot to score his fifth goal of the playoffs. No one had even expected a playoff appearance.

There were more talented Washington teams in Ovechkin's time with the Capitals, three of those teams won the Presidents' Trophy regular season title.

LAS VEGAS (AP) - The Washington Capitals have won their first Stanley Cup.

The Golden Knights, understandably, were disconsolate. The Capitals, who had squandered 3-1 series leads five times in the previous 12 occasions they had led by that margin, weren't about to let go of this one.

It was a dizzying display of offence and perhaps the best period of hockey so far in this final.

Oshie was outstanding throughout Washington's playoff run, racking up eight goals and 13 assists in 24 games as the Caps' fourth-leading scorer. The play started when Vegas defenceman Deryk Engelland missed the net with a shot and then got caught deep in Washington's zone.

Fleury retaliated with a slash of his own as the two met near centre ice. And the storybook ending the Vegas Golden Knights had desperately hoped for became a story of another kind for the Washington Capitals.

The goals kept coming - and from unlikely sources.

Braden Holtby had to make just seven saves for the Capitals. Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals could break their curse with a win.

With Ovechkin serving a tripping penalty after Dmitry Orlov fumbled with the puck, Reilly Smith put Vegas ahead 3-2 on a power-play goal.

Instead, on a night where every shot was destined for the back of the net, the Caps came back again.

The first half of the third period went scoreless until Devante Smith-Pelly broke the drought and tied the game up at three goals a piece.

After that 3-2 goal was scored, a wild scuffle ensued.

Smith-Pelly scored the equalizer in the third period, his seventh goal of the postseason matching the seven he scored in the regular season.

But surely it's not just the pre-game shows and dazzling lights of Sin City that has led to this phenomenal record?