Alex Ovechkin put both hands to his head and screamed while he left the bench and skated into the thick of the Washington Capitals‘ joyous celebration.

And right before Ovechkin hoisted the Stanley Cup Antonio Morrison Jersey , the Washington captain put both hands on his head again in a gesture of disbelieving ecstasy.

You can believe it, Ovi. So can the Washington fans whose championship drought is finally over.

After striving through 13 of his franchise’s 43 seasons, the Russian superstar and the long-suffering Capitals are sitting on top of hockey for the very first time.

”It doesn’t matter what happened before,” Ovechkin said through his gap-toothed grin. ”We just won it.”

Lars Eller scored the tiebreaking goal with 7:37 to play, and the Capitals claimed their first NHL title with a 4-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Ovechkin capped his playoff MVP campaign with an early power-play goal, and 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.

”We did it,” said Ovechkin, whose 15 playoff goals set a franchise record. ”That’s all that matters. Look at the smiles on my teammates. This is something you’ll never forget. This moment, I’ll remember for the rest of my life. I’m so happy. It’s unbelievable.”

Vegas’ incredible expansion season finally ended, and so did the Capitals’ wait for a title since their debut in 1974. But after so many years of crushing disappointment for a team with a lengthy history of postseason failure, these Caps confidently won their fourth consecutive closeout game with a tenacious third-period comeback in Vegas.

Ovechkin and his teammates are Washington’s first championship hockey team – and their city’s first champion in a major pro sport since the Redskins won the Super Bowl in early 1992.

”It doesn’t come easy,” said goalie Braden Holtby, who made 28 saves while outplaying three-time Stanley Cup champion Marc-Andre Fleury in the opposite net one final time. ”It took years. Years of heartbreak. Years of breaking things down and trying again, breaking things down and trying again Authentic Connor Brickley Jersey , and this group never gave up. And we finally did it.”

After Ovechkin accepted the Conn Smythe Trophy, he received the Cup from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. Ovechkin shouted ”Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!” before skating away and hoisting the prize over his head for a victory lap in front of thousands of red-clad fans.

When a succession of teammates finally got the Cup back to Ovi, he handed it to Ted Leonsis, the Caps’ owner since 1999.

”I’m so happy for the group that has gone through the misery,” said Washington coach Barry Trotz, a first-time champ in his 19th season behind an NHL bench and a potential free agent without a contract for next season.

The Caps couldn’t win a Cup without a little late weirdness, however: The game clock stopped working on the T-Mobile Arena scoreboards during the final minutes, and the Capitals angrily protested while they played on. Vegas never got close to a tying goal despite both teams getting an extra chance to rest while the officials checked on the timing. The clock finally hit zeros, allowing the Caps to storm the ice behind their net for a frenzied celebration.

Reilly Smith scored a go-ahead goal late in the second period for the Golden Knights, who won seven of their first eight home playoff games before dropping the last two.

”When you get this close to the Cup, it’s hard,” Fleury said. ”Doesn’t happen too often. It’s very disappointing.”

The defeat ended the storybook inaugural season of the Golden Knights, who became the NHL’s 31st franchise last fall and immediately launched into arguably the greatest debut in modern pro sports history. Few expected the division title they delivered, and fewer still thought Vegas could challenge for a championship.

Nate Schmidt and David Perron also scored deflection goals for Vegas in the second period Connor Brown Jersey , but Fleury’s 29 saves included a stopped puck that dropped underneath him where Eller could sweep it home for the Cup-winning goal.

”It means everything,” Eller said. ”You couldn’t write the story better. If you’re going to win on the road, I couldn’t imagine a better place to do it.”

Forward T.J. Oshie spent a moment in the celebration looking up for his father, Tim, who he said was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

”He doesn’t remember a lot of stuff, but he’s going to remember this,” Oshie said. ”I’ve never seen a team come together like we did here. I’ve never seen the commitment from start to finish like we had here.”

Washington’s win was its 10th on the road in this postseason, tying the NHL playoff record and illustrating the superior toughness of this team. While past editions of the Caps created their team’s reputation for postseason flops in part by losing five playoff series in which they had won three of the first four games, Ovechkin’s latest group promptly closed out all four of its series this year on the very first try.

The Caps also came back from series deficits in all four rounds and clinched all four series on the road.

The remarkable Golden Knights hadn’t lost four consecutive games in their entire inaugural season before the Caps rolled them.

”It’s going to be a tough couple days,” Vegas defenseman Deryk En In his first public comments since he declined at the last minute to accept the Indianapolis Colts‘ head coaching position, Josh McDaniels denied Friday that he’d made any deal to succeed Bill Belichick as coach of the New England Patriots.

McDaniels listed several reasons for remaining in New England as Belichick’s offensive coordinator – some personal, some football-related. But he said his job is no different than it was before his near-departure for Indianapolis.

”No, I mean my role is the same,” McDaniels said when asked if he’d received any assurances of becoming the Patriots’ next coach. ”Look Womens Adrian Peterson Jersey , I think if you’re here, you have an opportunity to work with and for some of the best people in our game, maybe some of the best people that have ever done those things in our game. So I just feel like it’s a great opportunity to be here in my role.”

That role will continue to be calling plays and working with quarterback Tom Brady.

”Whatever happens in the future’s going to happen,” he said. ”I’ll be happy with whatever that is.”

McDaniels and the rest of the Patriots’ assistants spoke to reporters at Gillette Stadium on Friday for the first time since New England’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl on Feb. 4.

The Colts thought they had hired McDaniels two days later, tweeting out a welcome and even scheduling a news conference for the next day. Instead, McDaniels, who was coach of the Denver Broncos from 2009-10, changed his mind and returned to the Patriots for his 10th season as offensive coordinator.

”You know there’s a lot that goes into those things and it can be very complicated,” he said. ”I’ve stated again and again that I definitely want to be a head coach again. At the same time, I love being here.

”This is where my kids are born and raised and we’ve made a pretty special life here and that’s not an easy thing to leave. There’s a lot to consider, and certainly leaving here I don’t take lightly ever. … It was a difficult process and I’m very happy with the decision that we made.”

While McDaniels returns to his old role, linebackers coach Brian Flores’ duties will expand. Although he won’t have the title of defensive coordinator, Flores will call the plays. This isn’t a new situation for Belichick’s staff: Matt Patricia, who left to become coach of the Detroit Lions in January Taron Johnson Jersey , called plays from 2009-11 before getting the defensive coordinator title in 2012.

The Patriots ranked 29th in yards allowed per game (366) but were fifth in points allowed (18.5) last season.

Flores doesn’t anticipate making a personal stamp on the defense just because he’ll be calling the plays.

”I think there’s a long history of this defense. Bill’s been here for a number of years, so I would say we’re going to continue to play defense like we’ve played for the last 18 seasons since he’s been here,” Flores said. ”My role in that is no different than any other coach on the team. We’re trying to put something together here and do whatever helps us win, you know. You can call it a personal imprint, but it’s a team imprint. … We’re trying to build to be as good as we can be.”

Notes: The Patriots released OL Tony Garcia on Thursday. Garcia, a third-round pick in the 2017 draft out of Troy, spent last season on the reserve/non-football injury list. … New England also signed 2018 fifth-round draft pick LB Ja’Whaun Bentley, sixth-round draft picks LB Christian Sam and WR Braxton Berrios and seventh-round picks QB Danny Etling, DB Keion Crossen and TE Ryan Izzo. Terms of the contracts were not announced. In addition, the Patriots signed nine rookie free agents.

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