Capitals fans gave the team everything they had in the Stanley Cup Final, turning out in droves even when the Caps were on the road to support their team. And, since winning the Stanley Cup last Thursday, clinching D.C.'s first professional championship in 26 years, the Caps have returned that love tenfold.
Don’t know about you, but I am loving the way the Capitals are celebrating, almost everything out in the public and with the people in the D.C. area. Fans waited a long time and they’re getting a taste of the celebration too. It’s supposed to be fun. It’s supposed to be a party.
— Dan Rosen (@drosennhl) June 11, 2018
"I just love how they're sharing it with the people," Eric Bickel of The Sports Junkies remarked to Caps play-by-play announcer Joe Beninati on Monday. "I mean, honestly, it's just blown me away. I know it's kind of a tradition and this is what happens, but we're not used to this sort of thing."
"Nothing surprises me though about that about this team," said Beninati. "I think one of the reasons why this team became a champion was because they are such a tight-knit family unit, and I even experienced that with Craig Laughlin the other night when we were downtown. We went upstairs and we saw a little bit of the behind-the-scenes with the privates rooms. They are more apt to bring the Cup down the stairs to share it with the fans than they are to have it in their own surroundings, their own private time with it."
"But when they are there with it," he added, "they have such enormous respect for it that they keep wanting to share it time after time with as many fans as possible. Trust me, guys. They saw what I saw from the road, whether it be in Tampa or from Vegas, all these cutaway shots to reaction shots from (Capital One Arena).
"So they saw all that," Jason Bishop asked.
"They did. They were either seeing it or they were told about it, by loved ones, by friends," said Beninati. "And it was something that they got swept up in. So it's no surprise to see the pied piper, No. 8, leading the Cup around and wanting to share it with as many fans as possible, and every single guy will tell you the same thing."
Third period on deck, @Capitals fans. Give it everything you’ve got. #ALLCAPS #CapsKnights #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/MaZtDRg4wb
— MonumentalSportsNet (@MonSportsNet) June 8, 2018Caps center Lars Eller, who scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal in Game 5, was taken aback by the fans' support as well.
"It just almost gives you chills," Eller told The Junkies later in Monday's program. "This city has just... turned into a hockey city here."
From the moment the Caps arrived back in D.C., they've made a point to share the (endless) celebration with their fans.
Smiling with some of DCs finest. #StanleyCup champion @NHL @Capitals @HockeyHallFame pic.twitter.com/v2pjQmSrAI
— Philip Pritchard (@keeperofthecup) June 9, 2018.@ovi8 shows off the hardware. @dontitovaH/t @matt_valdez pic.twitter.com/SpkiISIvXy
— Crashing The Net (@CrashingTheNet) June 9, 2018Look at Ovechkin telling the fans to be louder when he walks in the bar. Such a boss (via @KuwaitKlick) pic.twitter.com/HzFQkCnVNl
— Dan Steinberg (@dcsportsbog) June 9, 2018This might be the single best Caps video to date, which is no small thing. (Via @NatsSquid) pic.twitter.com/oTTnHZ1mQt
— Dan Steinberg (@dcsportsbog) June 11, 2018Alex Ovechkin is just holding the Stanley Cup up in the middle of the inning. They won’t put him on the Jumbotron because the ball is still in play lmfao #ALLCAPS #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/XRRuUUWrOP
— Josh Billinson (@jbillinson) June 9, 2018As a non sequitur, check out Beninati's cameo in Jakub Vrana's wild Instagram story from late Saturday night (1:25).
vranas iconic story thus far pic.twitter.com/0OVGM5bHtm
— kaleigh #ALLCAPS (@kaleighnolan) June 10, 2018"THE WORDS THAT D.C. FANS HAVE BEEN WAITING TO HEAR SINCE 1974! THE WASHINGTON CAPITALS ARE THE 2018 STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS! IT'S NOT A DREAM! IT'S NOT A DESERT MIRAGE!" @WaltonCaps' WITH THE #STANLEYCUP GAME-WINNING CALL pic.twitter.com/2gYtPHpfZl
— 106.7 The Fan (@1067theFan) June 8, 2018Follow @ChrisLingebach and @1067TheFan on Twitter
