Fans turn out in droves to celebrate Stanley Cup-champion Washington Capitals

Washington Capitals center Lars Eller, left, from Denmark, and goaltender Braden Holtby, right, hold their children during a victory parade, Tuesday, June 12, 2018, in Washington. (Alex Brandon / AP)
By Stephen Whyno Associated Press

WASHINGTON – Hundreds of thousands of fans lined Constitution Avenue and filled the National Mall on Tuesday to celebrate the Washington Capitals’ first Stanley Cup championship.

The parade and rally midway between the U.S. Capitol and Washington Monument commemorated the first D.C. title in the major four professional sports since the Redskins in 1992 and the first Cup in the Capitals’ 44-year history.

Fans clad in red were 20 deep on either side of Constitution chanting “Let’s Go Caps!” as more than three dozen buses and convertibles made the trip along the mile-long route.

Conn Smythe Trophy-winning Alex Ovechkin, alternate captains Nicklas Backstrom and Brooks Orpik, owner Ted Leonsis and team president Dick Patrick took up the most prominent place in the parade on the last bus with the Stanley Cup. Chants of “Ovi! Ovi!” alternated with pleas of “Raise the Cup!” which Ovechkin, Backstrom and Orpik did for hours while sipping from beer bottles.

At the rally, winger T.J. Oshie led fans to chant, “back-to-back,” and Ovechkin and his teammates sang Queen’s “We Are The Champions” on stage to wrap up one of the biggest sports celebrations in the history of the nation’s capital.

Thank you for visiting Spokesman.com. To continue reading this story and enjoying our local journalism please subscribe or log in.

You have reached your article limit for this month.

Subscribe now and enjoy unlimited digital access to Spokesman.com

Unlimited Digital Access

Stay connected to Spokane for as little as 99¢!

Subscribe for access

Already a Spokesman-Review subscriber? Activate or Log in

You have reached your article limit for this month.

Subscribe now and enjoy unlimited digital access to Spokesman.com

Unlimited Digital Access

Stay connected to Spokane for as little as 99¢!

Subscribe for access

Already a Spokesman-Review subscriber? Activate or Log in

Oops, it appears there has been a technical problem. To access this content as intended, please try reloading the page or returning at a later time. Already a Spokesman-Review subscriber? Activate or Log in