The Stanley Cup finals are underway this week—16 teams entered and two are left. The Washington Capitals are facing off against the Vegas Golden Knights.
One of the teams has a special connection to the central Pennsylvania region. If you have ever been to a Hershey Bears game, you might see some familiar faces on the ice for the Capitals during the final series. Since the 2005-06 season, the AHL’s Hershey Bears has been the primary development club for the NHL’s Washington Capitals.
Hershey has developed players like Braden Holtby, Philipp Grubauer, Dmitry Orlov, Nathan Walker and Chandler Stephenson, all former Bears players. These former Bears will play a key role in this series, in an attempt to secure Washington’s first Stanley Cup.
Hershey has been ingrained in hockey history and is the longest continuously operating member club still playing in its original city. The history of Hershey hockey goes way back to 1931 with amateur matches between college teams. Milton S. Hershey saw the popularity of these games, which encouraged him to bring a professional hockey team permanently to Hershey. Gordie Howe, known as “Mr. Hockey” and 1972 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, even once remarked that, “Everybody who is anybody in hockey has played in Hershey.” It was a high compliment from the hockey icon.
This year’s Stanley Cup match up will be compelling as both teams have great storylines.
The Caps are known as a hard-luck squad that, while typically one of the best teams in the league, can’t close the deal once they hit the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights are a first-year expansion team out of Sin City. Made up of leftover players from the other 30 squads, the team is making history for having the best first-year ever for any professional expansion team.
The Caps’ captain, Alex Ovechkin, is electric and the best goal scorer of his time. He is facing Marc-Andre Fleury in net, who is looking to continue his great playoff run. Fleury is a veteran to postseason hockey, winning the Stanley Cup three times with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Someone is going to win their first Stanley Cup. Will it be the Washington Capitals or the newcomers, Vegas Golden Knights?
If you have not been watching the Stanley Cup playoffs so far, it is time now to tune in for some of the best competition of the 2017-18 sports season. Hockey not your thing? Vegas does not disappoint during the pregame show, starting every home game with a cosplaying Knight dueling a mascot from the other team, faux-stabbing that mascot, then “vanquishing” him and lifting him up into the rafters. Let’s hope these two teams take it to game seven, which means we won’t have our Stanley Cup champ until June 13.
The Stanley Cup finals began Monday night, with the Vegas Golden Knights taking a 1-0 series lead with an exciting, high-scoring 6-4 victory. The series continues on Wednesday at 8 p.m.
