Washington capitals won the stanley cup!

Across their 43 seasons, the Washington Capitals dabbled in hapless hockey and exquisite hockey, boring hockey and effective hockey, but never had they played winning hockey through four playoff rounds, all the way to a grueling, glorious end.

It took a team hardened by postseason failures but liberated from high expectations to complete a run as dazzling as it was cathartic, capping it on Thursday night by dispatching the upstart Vegas Golden Knights, 4-3, to win the first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

It was the Capitals’ fourth consecutive victory in the finals after a disorienting 6-4 loss in the opener that made little sense in the context of how they played immediately before and afterward. After twice shutting out the offensive powerhouse Tampa Bay Lightning to advance to its first Cup finals since 1998, Washington outscored the Golden Knights across these last four games by 16-8.

Colliton bringing new ideas to Blackhawks in debut

Jeremy Colliton was implementing as much as he could in an 80-minute Chicago Blackhawks practice Wednesday.The coach, promoted when Joel Quenneville was fired Tuesday, covered everything from defensive-zone work to puck-battle drills to special teams. The Blackhawks tried to take it all in.

"That's the challenge. We don't really have time to feel anything out," defenseman Duncan Keith said. "We've got to do our best to play our best and not think too much, but also try and implement some of the things."

The Blackhawks (6-6-3) have to learn fast and get results quickly, starting Thursday when Colliton makes his NHL coaching debut against the Carolina Hurricanes (8:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCH, FS-CR, NHL.TV). The 33-year-old is the youngest coach in the NHL.

Chicago has lost five straight games and is sixth in the Central Division, nine points behind first-place Nashville (12-3-0).

Lucic fined for actions in Oilers game against Lightning

Edmonton Oilers forward Milan Lucic has been fined $10,000, the maximum allowable under the collective bargaining agreement, for roughing Tampa Bay Lightning forward Mathieu Joseph during NHL Game No. 220 in Tampa on Tuesday, Nov. 6, the National Hockey League Department of Player Safety announced today.

The incident occurred at 9:28 of the third period. Lucic was assessed minor penalties for interference and roughing as well as a misconduct.

The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.