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The Capitals last night with their 4-3 win over the Golden Knights clinched the first championship in their "44-year-history and Washington’s first major pro sports title" since the Redskins won the Super Bowl in '92. Although it was a Vegas home game, Capitals jerseys were "everywhere in the building," as there were audible fan chants of "We want the Cup" (USA TODAY, 6/8). The game's final two minutes provided "one of the more surreal moments in Stanley Cup Final history." The "clock in both Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena and on-screen froze, creating a surreal scene in which seemingly the only people in the world who knew how much time was left in the game were the officials." The issue was "corrected with less than 30 seconds to go" (USA TODAY, 6/8).
Celebrations "erupted inside" Capital One Arena as the viewing party saw the clock hit zero, and confetti "covered fans who filled" the arena (AP, 6/7). Fans in DC "turned out in unprecedented numbers to watch Game 5," though it was the epicenter in Chinatown that "felt (and smelled) like Mardi Gras during the biggest party of these playoffs." It is "no exaggeration to say there had never been a night quite like this in the District" (WASHINGTON POST, 6/8). As many fans "united outside Capital One Arena," some in the crowd "climbed up trees and light poles and shouted in the excitement." As of midnight local time, "no arrests had been reported" (USATODAY.com, 6/8).
While Vegas sports books "won't have to pay out millions of dollars in preseason Golden Knights futures tickets that bettors took at odds as high as 500-1, the potential loss was mitigated over the past several months." William Hill Dir of Trading Nick Bogdanovich said he thought estimates of $5-6M "sounded about right" (ESPN.com, 6/7).
Meanwhile, Beats By Dre wasted no time congratulating Capitals LW Alex Ovechkin.
