It was around 5am in Germany and the sun was just coming up when the Caps won the Stanely Cup on June 7, 2018. I had stayed up all night, like I had for almost two months, as Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Tom Wilson, and the rest finally ended years of heartbreak and postseason trauma for millions of Capitals fans. I was alone in my living room, but I certainly was not alone in celebrating a moment I had waited my entire life to see. The Washington Capitals were Stanley Cup Champions.
I spent most of the the Spring of 2018 in Germany staying up past 4am on game nights. (My neighbors thought I was crazy. They had no idea.) I was antsy, jittery, nervous. But, all of the people on the F Street and 7th Avenue made feel like we were allowed to have hope. I remember jumping up screaming silently wearing nothing but my boxers when Evgeny Kuznetsov scored the overtime winner against the Penguins to advance to the Eastern Conference finals. I told my brother before Game 7 of the conference finals that Caps fans had endured far too many close games and we deserved to watch them win a blow out so we could actually enjoy it for once without having a stroke. That night (early morning for me) Braden Holtby shutout Tampa for the second consecutive game, Andre Burakvosky scored twice and the Caps beat Tampa 4-0 to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for only the second time in their history. That was the most fun I ever had watching the Caps win a seventh game.
I remember “” I remember Ovi breaking John Druce’s record for most goals scored by a Capital in a single postseason. I remember Nicky Backstrom playing with a broken finger. I remember Game 5 of the Finals in Vegas, when Lars Eller flipped the puck into the net from behind Marc- Andre Fleury to put the Caps up 4-3. I remember how excruciating it was watch the clock for those last seven minutes. Could this be it? Then, it was over. The Caps had won the Cup!
All of those game sevens, the 3-1 leads that were choked away, the ovetrime losses, all of those moments that ripped our hearts out and made us feel like th team was cursed. Those moments of sadness and loss only made June 7th, 2018 that much better. My stepdad texted within seconds. “Holy sh*t! They did it!” The second text arrived seconds later. A buddy of mine from Pittsburgh. “Congrats, my friend. I know how long you waited for this. I’m really happy for you.”
I told my son yesterday that the Caps winning the Cup eight years ago to the day, He looked at me with a twinkel in his eye. “The Caps won the Stanley Cup on June 7th? Six seven!” he yelled out doing the hand gesture. So, that's what that meme means.! I always thought it was nonsense. Who knew it was to celebrate the day the Capitals and their fans finally could celebrate being the best hockey team in the world. Six seven indeed.
