LAS VEGAS (AP) - The Washington Capitals have won their first Stanley Cup.
Alex Ovechkin scored midway through the game and Lars Eller had a go-ahead goal with 6:37 left in the third period, lifting the Capitals to a 4-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 5 on Thursday night.
The expansion Golden Knights closed their record-breaking season with their first four-game losing streak.
The Capitals went into the third trailing 3-2 and went ahead after Devante Smith-Pelly and Eller scored 2:31 apart midway through the pivotal period.
Braden Holtby, who made a spectacular stick save to help win Game 2, made enough saves to seal the win while the clock appeared to malfunction after Vegas pulled Marc-Andre Fleury to add an extra skater with more than a minute remaining.
Tens of thousands of red-clad Capitals fans partied in the streets Thursday night to celebrate the Stanley Cup and the city's first title in the major four professional sports since 1992.
After the Capitals' win, celebrations erupted inside their home arena at the viewing party and around Chinatown. Fans chanted, "We got the Cup!" and then "Ovi! Ovi" as captain Alex Ovechkin was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
As police officers blocked F Street and announcements were made about the last subway train, many fans ignored those pleas and kept partying on the steps of the National Portrait Gallery and in bars surrounding the rink. A couple of fans climbed light poles and one even scaled the nearby dragon tower.
The championship is the first by a Washington professional sports team in the NFL, NBA, NHL or Major League Baseball since the Redskins won the Super Bowl on Jan. 26, 1992.
