The Washington Capitals, for the first time in their 44 years of existence, are Stanley Cup champions.

Devante Smith-Pelly and Lars Eller scored in the third period of Game 5 to propel the Capitals to a clinching 4-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday. Washington won the series and Alex Ovechkin, who earned the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoffs MVP, cemented his place in hockey history.

Vegas rebounded from its Game 4 loss coming out with nothing else to lose. Coach Gerard Gallant chose to pair Nate Schmidt and Shea Theodore on defense while taking out Ryan Reaves and Ryan Carpenter in favor of David Perron and William Carrier. The moves paid dividends for the Golden Knights as Schmidt and Perron recorded their first goals of the series.