when's the last time the washington capitals were in the stanley cup finals
List of Washington Capitals seasons After reaching the Finals, the Capitals were assigned to the Southeast Division, in which they remained in for 15 years, until a NHL division realignment brought them into the newly formed Metropolitan Division in 2013. Through these times, the Capitals won three Presidents' Trophies in the 2009–10, 2015–16 and 2016–17 seasons,[3] before finally winning their first Stanley Cup in the 2017–18 season, after 42 seasons (not counting the cancelled 2004–05 season).
2018 Stanley Cup Finals The series began on May 28 and ended on June 7.[1] The Vegas Golden Knights had home ice advantage in the series since the Golden Knights won the Pacific Division with 109 points during the regular season, while the Capitals won the Metropolitan Division with 105 points.
Lars Eller After six seasons, Eller's tenure with the Canadiens came to an end at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, as he was traded to the Washington Capitals in exchange for two second-round picks in 2017 and 2018 on 24 June 2016.[14] On 10 February 2018, Eller signed a five-year, $17.5 million contract extension with the Capitals.[15]
Capitals–Penguins rivalry The Capitals–Penguins rivalry is a hockey rivalry between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League. Both teams have played in the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference since 2013. This rivalry stems from the 11 playoff series that the two teams have met in, which is second most between NHL expansion teams behind the Dallas Stars and the St. Louis Blues (which they have 13 meetings). Pittsburgh has emerged victorious in every series except for the 1994 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals and 2018 Eastern Conference Semifinals. There is also only a 250-mile drive between the cities of Washington and Pittsburgh, allowing visiting fans of both teams to attend each other's games in fairly large quantities. In addition to the geography and deep playoff history, the emergence of Alexander Ovechkin (Washington) and Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh) as two of the NHL's biggest superstars has fueled the rivalry.[13] The two rivals have won the last three Stanley Cups, and all six Stanley Cup championship seasons combined between Washington and Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh has five of them) involved a round against the other team.