Skip to main content
Wednesday, November 11, 2026Nov 11
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

Capitals beat Golden Knights 4-3, win their 1st Stanley Cup

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 on Thursday, June 7, 2018, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
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 on Thursday, June 7, 2018, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) 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 on Thursday, June 7, 2018, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

By Associated Press 3 min read

LAS VEGAS (AP) – After 43 seasons, the Washington Capitals are finally sitting on top of hockey.

Lars Eller broke a tie with 7:37 to play, and the Capitals raised the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history after a 4-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 5 on Thursday night.

Devante Smith-Pelly tied it with a full-stretch goal midway through the final period of the Capitals’ fourth consecutive victory over the Golden Knights, whose incredible expansion season finally ended in the desert.

So did the Capitals’ agonizing wait for their first championship since the franchise’s debut in 1974. After so many years of postseason flops and crushing disappointment, these Capitals won their fourth consecutive closeout game with a tenacious third-period comeback.

Captain Alex Ovechkin, who scored an early power-play goal and was the playoff MVP, and his teammates are Washington’s first championship hockey team – and the city’s first champion in a major pro sport since the Redskins won the Super Bowl in early 1992.