Welcome to the 13th episode of Run It Back! Today, we are going to revisit the 2018 playoff series between the NHL’s Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins.
On Sunday, Capitals superstar forward Alex Ovechkin scored his 895th NHL goal, breaking Wayne Gretzky’s long-standing record of 894. With the end of the regular season just one week away, I thought it would be appropriate to discuss another defining moment of Ovechkin’s career, when Washington took down Pittsburgh in the second round of the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Every year, the league’s best teams duke it out in a four-round, best-of-seven tournament to decide the NHL’s champion for that season. 16 teams enter the arena, each with one simple, yet impossible goal in mind: to win the Stanley Cup. For some teams, winning comes easy, but for others, it can take a long time to finally conquer that mountain.
The rivalry between the Capitals and Penguins examines those two camps side by side, pitting a club with bundles of playoff wealth against another with years of postseason futility. Pittsburgh has had a lot of success in the postseason, winning five Stanley Cups with legendary players like Mario Lemieux, Jaromír Jágr, and Sidney Crosby. With the talents of those world-class skaters, the Penguins became tied with the Edmonton Oilers for the most championships amongst the NHL’s expansion teams, and the fifth-most overall.
On the other hand, Washington has experienced almost nothing but pain in the playoffs, having made it past the second round just twice through the end of the 2016-17 season. Between 1991 and 2001, the Capitals lost to Pittsburgh in the playoffs six times over seven postseason meetings, coming away with just one series victory in 1994. Following their first two triumphs over Washington in 1991 and ‘92, the Penguins went on to win back-to-back Stanley Cups, while the Capitals were left wondering when their turn would come.
Washington finished as one of the worst teams in 2003-04, granting them a top pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. The Capitals won the draft lottery and received the top draft position, using it to pick Ovechkin first overall. Having also been languishing near the bottom around this time, Pittsburgh would select first in 2005, taking the aforementioned Crosby with the top pick in the draft.
As the result of a lockout that canceled the entirety of the 2004-05 season, Ovechkin and Crosby shared a rookie year in 2005-06. By the spring of 2006, both superstars had made an impression on the league, finishing in the top 10 in points with over 100 each. Ending his first NHL campaign with 52 goals, 54 assists, and 106 points, Ovechkin claimed the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie, with Crosby finishing as the runner-up. A new generation was spreading its wings, with The Great Eight and Sid the Kid leading the way.
At the close of 2007-08, both players had become two of the best in professional hockey, having won at least one Hart Trophy as league MVP and one Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s leading scorer. The following year, their teams met in the second round of the playoffs, taking the Capitals-Penguins rivalry to a whole new level.
Pittsburgh won the series in seven games, taking four of five from Washington after losing Games 1 and 2. Game 2 was particularly notable as Ovechkin and Crosby each scored hat-tricks, with the Capitals winning 4-3 thanks to David Steckel’s tying goal in the second period. After taking down Washington for the seventh time, the Penguins advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, sweeping the Carolina Hurricanes in four games en route to winning their third Stanley Cup championship. Evgeni Malkin, who was selected second overall behind Ovechkin in 2004, was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as MVP of the 2009 postseason.
Between the 2009-10 and 2014-15 seasons, both teams stuck around as two of the best teams in the East, showcasing their rivalry on national television during the 2011 Winter Classic. Crosby dealt with some concussion issues during this time, but Pittsburgh remained a regular fixture in the playoffs, extending their postseason appearance streak to nine years in 2015. The Capitals largely stayed in contention as well, missing the playoffs just once in 2014. However, neither of them were able to win it all, combining for only one appearance in the Conference Finals in 2013. That all changed in 2015-16, which saw the long-time rivals play in their ninth postseason matchup.
The teams’ 2016 series was a highly-anticipated showdown—Washington set a new franchise record for wins during the regular season (56), claiming the Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s best team during the regular season. Meanwhile, the Penguins finished second in the Eastern Conference, ending the year with 104 points. In the first round of the playoffs, the Capitals defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in six games, while Pittsburgh downed the New York Rangers in five, setting the stage for a white-hot duel in round two.
The Penguins knocked out Washington in six games, although both teams put up a strong fight throughout the series. Five of the six games in this series were decided by just one goal, and three games went to overtime. Pittsburgh emerged victorious in two of those three overtime games, including the decisive Game 6. Like in 1991, 1992, and 2009, the Penguins went on to win the Stanley Cup after eliminating the Capitals earlier in the playoffs.
In 2016-17, Washington and Pittsburgh finished as the NHL’s two best teams during the regular season. The Capitals nearly equaled their record from the year prior, ending with 55 wins and 118 points, winning the Presidents’ Trophy for the second straight season and the third time overall. Similarly, the Penguins finished with their second-highest point total in franchise history (111), just eight points shy of the franchise record of 119 points set during the 1992-93 campaign. Crosby ended the year as the NHL’s leading goal-scorer with 44 goals, dethroning Ovechkin, who had won the last four goal-scoring titles from 2012-13 to 2015-16.
The two superstars and their teams met in the second round once again, with both sides vying to finish atop the league at the end of the playoffs. Would one side earn a shot at successfully defending their title? Or would the other side finally break through after countless failed attempts?
2017 was not quite as close as 2016 was, with Pittsburgh pulling ahead with a 3-1 series lead through four games. Though Washington evened the playing field by winning the next two games, the Penguins advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals with a 2-0 victory over the Capitals in Game 7, denying Ovechkin a shot at winning the Cup. Crosby, who had seven points vs. Washington in the second round, went on to win Conn Smythe honors for the second time as Pittsburgh repeated as Stanley Cup champions.
By the 2017-18 season, time was starting to run out for the Capitals to win the Cup with Ovechkin. The Great Eight was one of the most decorated players in the league, but he still had yet to go all the way at age 32. As previously mentioned, Washington had only advanced past the second round on two occasions, having last done so in 1998. Would this finally be the year the Capitals won the Stanley Cup?
Washington won the Metropolitan Division title for the third straight year, finishing with 105 points during the regular season. Ovechkin reclaimed his throne as the league’s leading goal-scorer, notching 49 goals on the year. The Penguins finished five points behind the Capitals with 100, earning the Metropolitan Division’s second playoff seed. Heading into the postseason, another second round matchup was sure to be likely.
In round one, Washington defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets in six games, winning four in a row after narrowly dropping the first two. Pittsburgh continued their Cup defense into round two, taking down the rival Flyers in a high-scoring, often lopsided six-game series. For the third consecutive postseason, the Capitals and Penguins would be meeting in the second round.
Heading into the series, hockey fans in the U.S. capital were cautiously optimistic about their team’s chances against Pittsburgh. They had seen this movie time and time again—the Capitals had the superior record during the regular season, sometimes jumped out to an early lead in the series, but something always prevented them from finishing off the Penguins. Washington had been up 3-1 on Pittsburgh multiple times, but often fell apart and lost in seven games. The Penguins owned the Capitals in the playoffs, winning nine of the teams’ 10 postseason meetings up to this point. Would Washington and Ovechkin finally prevail this time? Or would Pittsburgh’s quest for a three-peat continue?
The Capitals gained a 2-0 lead in Game 1 on goals from Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov, but the Penguins responded with three in the third period to win 3-2. Washington’s collapse in the final period did not do much to quell doubts that they would finally beat Pittsburgh, but they were resilient in round one vs. Columbus. This Capitals team could keep up with the defending champion Penguins, they just needed a little bit of time.
Washington redeemed themselves in Game 2, leading 3-0 before Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang scored the visitors’ only goal of the contest. If the outcome was still in doubt after Letang’s goal, Nicklas Bäckström scored on an empty net in the dying seconds of regulation. Following the Capitals’ dominant win at home in Game 2, the series headed to PPG Paints Arena for Games 3 and 4.
The rivals treated the Steel City faithful to a spectacle in Game 3, scoring five goals in the second period alone. Washington defenseman John Carlson got a power play goal to open the scoring, but the Penguins answered with goals from Jake Guentzel and Patric Hörnqvist. Chandler Stephenson tied the score at 2-2, only for Crosby to restore Pittsburgh’s lead five minutes later. Former Penguin Matt Niskanen evened the score for the Capitals in the third, and Ovechkin drove in the game-winner within the final two minutes of regulation. With a 4-3 victory, Washington was guaranteed to be heading back home with at least a series tie.
Pittsburgh was not going down easy, though, knotting the series at two games apiece in Game 4. Despite T.J. Oshie tying the score at 1-1 for the Capitals in the second period, Malkin and Guentzel denied Washington from gaining any more ground, giving the Penguins a 3-1 victory to secure a series tie heading back to D.C.
Back at Capital One Arena for Game 5, the combatants engaged in another back-and-forth affair, scoring a combined nine goals in the game. Jamie Oleksiak made it 1-0 Pittsburgh early in the first period, but Carlson and Brett Connolly erased the Penguins’ lead by scoring 33 seconds apart from one another near the end of the frame. Pittsburgh regained the lead in the second on goals from Crosby and Hörnqvist, heading into the final period up 3-2.
The Capitals did not surrender, however, as Kuznetsov tied the score within the first minute of the third period. Rookie Jakub Vrána put Washington ahead 4-3, with Oshie and Lars Eller each scoring an empty-net goal to put the finishing touches on the Capitals’ Game 5 victory. Up 3-2 in the series, Washington needed just one more win to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 20 years.
At PPG Paints Arena for Game 6, the Penguins were faced with elimination as the Capitals hoped to put an end to their rivals’ bid for a third consecutive Cup. Goaltenders Braden Holtby and Matt Murray stopped every shot they faced in the first period, with Alex Chiasson breaking the scoreless tie for Washington in the second. Nine minutes later, Letang brought Pittsburgh back into the game to knot the score at 1-1. Nobody else was able to score for the rest of the second period or at all in the third, necessitating the first overtime period of the series.
5:27 into OT, Kuznetsov delivered the finishing blow to the Penguins’ hopes for a three-peat, sending the Capitals to the Conference Finals for the third time in franchise history. For the first time since 1994, Washington defeated Pittsburgh in the playoffs, winning for just the second time in 11 postseason encounters. At long last, the Capitals had exorcised their playoff demons—both the Penguins and the second round—and were four wins away from claiming a berth in the Stanley Cup Final.
Washington faced the Tampa Bay Lightning, the East’s top seed, in the Conference Finals, winning in seven games after dropping three in a row to fall behind 3-2. Holtby played perfectly in net over the last two games, as the Capitals outscored the Lightning 7-0 in Games 6 and 7 to claim the Prince of Wales Trophy as the Eastern Conference champions. Washington reached the Stanley Cup Final for just the second time in franchise history, having last made it in 1998.
Awaiting the Capitals in the Stanley Cup Final was the Vegas Golden Knights, who had become the first expansion team to reach the Final in their inaugural season since the 1967-68 St. Louis Blues. Vegas won 6-4 at home in Game 1, but Washington took each of the next four games to win the series in five. As the final horn sounded in Game 5, the Capitals erupted in celebration on the ice at T-Mobile Arena, winning the Stanley Cup for the first time ever.
After 43 seasons, Washington, D.C. finally won the NHL’s most coveted trophy. The Capitals’ ghosts of postseasons past were vanquished, and Ovechkin claimed his long-awaited Cup. During the 2018 playoffs, Ovechkin finished with 15 goals and 12 assists for 27 points in 24 games, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as postseason MVP. Following the conclusion of Game 5, Ovechkin hoisted the Stanley Cup, making for one of the most joyous scenes in sports history.
Upon winning the Stanley Cup, the Capitals continued a decades-long trend of their rivalry with the Penguins—every time one of them won the Cup, the other would be eliminated by them at some point during the playoffs. All five of Pittsburgh’s Cup wins saw the team eliminate Washington in one of the first two rounds, and the Capitals’ Cup win in 2018 involved beating the Penguins in round two. You can’t have one without the other—that goes for the careers of Ovechkin and Crosby, as well as the teams that they play for.
Every team creates their own unique timeline over the years. Some teams experience a lot of success early on, while others take much longer to go all the way and win it all. One team may win a championship within their first few years of existence, and another may go decades without ever winning their sport’s biggest prize. No two teams will ever have identical legacies, although some may forever be tied to one another in some way.
Some rivalries are pretty even between both parties, while others can be quite lopsided. In the latter case, it is extra special when the team that does not usually win as much gets the upper hand. Their frustrations finally come to a head, and after years of waiting, they are able to one-up their usually-dominant foes. These moments can happen at any point in time, making it all the more exciting to tune in and watch to see how things play out.
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