Around the NHL: Ovechkin, Capitals Reach Stanley Cup Final

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

In the Western Conference, it was a remarkable story of a team in its first season making the Stanley Cup Final. In the Eastern Conference, a team that for several seasons has been among the best regular-season teams in the league finally has made it to the dance.

The Washington Capitals are heading to the Stanley Cup Final after a 4-0 win in Game 7 on Wednesday night.

Washington played essentially a perfect game in Game 6 in Washington, getting out to a lead in the second and finishing the job in the third. It was an effort they needed to replicate on the road in Game 7.

The Capitals did just that, getting a statement from their captain just 61 seconds in. Alex Ovechkin opened the scoring on the first shot of the game. That proved to be the game-winner.

Behind a pair of goals in the second period by Andre Burakovsky and a stellar performance from Braden Holtby, the Capitals finished the job and reached the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1998 as a franchise. For the players on this team, notably Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Holtby, as well as head coach Barry Trotz, this is group that had to overcome the demons and the label of frequent early exits in the playoffs.

The makeup of the team is hardly the same as when Ovechkin first broke into the league, but for the Washington captain, it was starting to become a question of if he was ever going to get this chance. The team's lack of playoff success defined a decorated career with Hall of Fame numbers.

Those narratives are no more. Ovechkin gets his date with destiny, perhaps literally.

For now though, Ovechkin and the Capitals get to enjoy reaching this mark. 

It is really the exact opposite story of their soon-to-be counterparts, the Vegas Golden Knights. On one side, you have a franchise still in its infancy, with no history of success or lack thereof. In Washington's case, there were seasons where they were the laughing stock of the league. There were more than a few years where they were defined by a lack of playoff success, close to reaching the heights of hockey success, but always falling a few games short of the mark.

The Capitals were always the team that didn't get the bounce or the break. They were the team that always ran into the hot goalie or the hot team. There was no question about the overall success of the team. They were consistently among the best in the Eastern Conference in the regular season only to fall short in the playoffs.

This was the Game 7 where it all went right from start to finish. But it really is a credit to Barry Trotz and Alex Ovechkin.

Trotz is one of the most respected coaches in the NHL and one of the most successful in his time with Washington in terms of wins and losses. That said, he too was starting to be defined by the Capitals playoff shortcomings.

It should come as no surprise that the Capitals are here because they are a well-coached team. But that could be said of all of the teams that Trotz had previously. In the end, this was not only a well-coached team, but a resilient and determined team. That made a lot of difference in this series especially.

In Ovechkin's case, he had the look of a determined player. He was going to ensure the Capitals made it to the Final. As the second period progressed and the realization that the Capitals were going to outlast the Tampa Bay Lightning in the series, Ovechkin not only had helped lead the way with the first goal, but was also the team's biggest cheerleader.

In his illustrious career, this was a deserved milestone moment for Ovechkin.

So now it's down to two teams left. The Washington Capitals and Vegas Golden Knights will face off in the Stanley Cup Final. The series begins on Monday, May 28, at 8 p.m.