I didn’t grow up liking hockey, but I always knew of one player in particular who was an absolute superstar that transcended the sport of hockey. His name was Alex Ovechkin and he was a goal scoring machine. He is the sole reason why I gravitated to hockey and once I did, I became a huge fan. The team was always competitive, making the playoffs each year. Unfortunately they tended to get bounced early in the playoffs and never seemed to be able to get over the hump. That was until the year 2018. Once again, the Capitals were a playoff team, but unlike the previous seasons, all of the pieces seemed to be falling into place. They got deep into the playoffs, making the Eastern Conference finals and beating the Tampa Bay Lightning in seven games. That meant they would face off against the Las Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Finals in hopes for the franchise’s first ever Stanley Cup. After losing the first game of the series, the Capitals, led by Ovechkin, rattled off four consecutive wins to capture that elusive first title. I still remember when the final horn sounded and the team was parading around the ice with the cup. I remember Ovechkin hoisting it above his head in celebration, finally achieving the greatest team accomplishment in the sport.
Since that year, I have lost some interest in the sport, but I still continue to check in on the Capitals, especially now that Ovechkin is getting closer and closer to breaking the record for the most goals in NHL history. What was once thought to be an unbreakable record is now almost certainly going to be broken and I know it will be a historic day for Ovechkin and the Capitals. I’ve got a few Capitals-related items in my collection. Check them out!
