Posted on 06/07/2018 8:11:33 PM PDT by EdnaMode
Across their 43 seasons, the Washington Capitals have dabbled in hapless hockey and exquisite hockey, boring hockey and effective hockey, but never had they played winning hockey through four playoff rounds, all the way to a grueling, glorious end.
It took a team hardened by those postseason lures but liberated from high expectations to complete a run as dazzling as it was cathartic, capping it on Thursday night by dispatching the upstart Vegas Golden Knights, 4-3, to win the first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
It was the Capitals’ fourth consecutive victory in the finals after a disorienting 6-4 loss in the opener that made little sense in the context of how they played immediately before and afterward. After twice shutting out the offensive powerhouse Tampa Bay Lightning to advance to its first Cup finals since 1998, Washington outscored the Golden Knights across these last four games.
The Capitals overwhelmed Vegas with the same elements that propelled them past Columbus, their nemesis Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay: stifling neutral-zone defense, superb goaltending by Braden Holtby and waves of prolific talent headlined by the superstar scorer Alex Ovechkin, who will no longer be labeled the best player never to win a Cup.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Lol.
Whoever has the most money to buy the best players wins. That’s all it is.
Don’t mean to correct, but Rod Langway is actually in the Hall of Fame (2002 inductee). Those Capitals teams of the 1980s with all of those good and great players had the misfortune of being there with the Islanders, Flyers (the 1987 team probably being the best one ever to not win the Cup), and the Gretzky/Messier Edmonton Oilers at the same time.
https://www.hhof.com/htmlinduct/ind02langway.shtml
Sorry, I misread your post and did not take your future tense into account concerning Hot Rod (future Hall of Famer).
if that were true the Rangers would own the Cup.
salary cap means every GM has the same possibility to build a competitive team.
That’s just based off my own observations.
I don’t watch sports much anymore, I don’t like being an enabler.
That’s interesting. Didn’t realize the Blues made it to the finals in their first three years. Very impressive.
No worries! You were right to correct my post. It was pretty darn confusing to use the term “future” when describing something that has already happened as of today. LOL.
The Blues had a number of great players but they were long past their primes. They made it to the finals in their first three seasons from 1968 to 1970 but were swept every year by dominant Montreal and Boston teams.
So the season for ice hockey—a winter sport—finally comes to an end halfway between Memorial Day and the summer solstice. The hockey season is way too long—and the same can be said for professional baseball, football and basketball.
Ah, thanks for the info. Very interesting. :D
It’s all about the Money. Longer season more Money.
Add me, please? (in time for October :) ) Thanks!
Smith-Pelly on the Caps. He scored the tying goal last night, I believe. He’s a solid player and I hope that when he becomes a FA that the Sharks can sign him.
Interesting that three defenseman from that Washington team ended up in the Hall of Fame (Langway, Murphy and Stevens). That’s pretty rare, for sure.
Yeah, me too. But the Caps dominated them, pure and simple.
Finally, a victory for the Washington establishment team over the upstart, outsider “Golden Knight” from the land of glitz…
(I guess they the right Russians won ;-)
No, that is reserved for when the Buffalo Bills win the Super Bowl.
Caps were certainly the better team in this series, although Vegas was a worthy opponent. Washington should be considered a favorite to win it next season, as long as they can hang onto John Carlson (potential UFA).
I think the ever-underrated Mike Gartner played for the Caps for a while, too.
Right! I didn’t include him because the poster I was responding to had already listed him in Post #4.
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