The Washington Capitals found themselves in an all too familiar situation just two games into the postseason this year, but their coach insists they never once let doubt creep in.
The Capitals, who had reached the playoffs in 10 of the last 11 years, kicked off their 2018 Stanley Cup run by losing consecutive overtime home games to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Many felt their season was over right then, but head coach Barry Trotz says he and Alex Ovechkin predicted a championship after they fell down 0-2.
Barry Trotz says after they were down 2-0 to Columbus in the first round he chatted with Alex Ovechkin and they said, according to the coach: "We're going to win the next game and we're going to go win a Cup together."
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 8, 2018
Washington had never won a championship in franchise history, and their Stanley Cup title is the first championship for a major DC sports team since 1992. Their fans had been expecting Ovechkin to deliver a Stanley Cup for years, and he finally came through by winning four straight games against the Las Vegas Golden Knights after yet another 0-1 start to a series.
You could tell by Ovechkin’s inappropriate but awesome reaction to Thursday’s win that this was a long time coming. Lesser teams would have never been able to fight back after losing two home games in heartbreaking fashion to begin the playoffs.
