Capitals' Stanley Cup win has fans celebrating in streets

WASHINGTON -- Caden D'Amore got a memorable eighth birthday present from his parents a little early.

Dean and Shelley D'Amore brought him here from Syracuse, New York, so they could join other Washington Capitals fans in watching their favorite hockey team win the Stanley Cup on Thursday.
"There's a direct flight from Syracuse to D.C.," said Dean D'Amore, who grew up in the Washington area. "Just to bring him on his birthday for Caps mania."
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The D'Amores were among tens of thousands of fans celebrating inside and outside Capital One Arena after Washington defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, winning the first championship in their 43-season history.
Caden, who plays right wing on his hockey team, said his favorite player is Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin.
"He scores all the goals," said Caden, whose birthday is Friday.
Also celebrating was Maddie Sturgell, 17, who took pictures on the arena floor with her friends and an inflatable Stanley Cup.
"I graduate high school tomorrow," said the senior at Southern High School in Harwood, Maryland. "It was just crazy to see the Caps bring this home to D.C."

Jason Robertson's father, Joe, was the 1 millionth fan through the turnstiles at the Capitals' former arena, Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland.
"He got a turkey, a set of radial (tires), a jersey and a couple tickets," Jason Robertson said. "This is awesome."
Joe Robertson died May 10, but Jason said his father's last words to him were, "'You enjoy those Caps.' So we had a little ringer up there pulling for us."
He said the death of his father inspired him to wear a white Washington jersey with the No. 18 and "Finally" on the back.

"It was a nail-biter to the end," Robertson said. "Couldn't ask for more. They had to dig deep and pull it out. They did it in Vegas, they had to come from behind and pull it out."
With Jason was his 11-year-old son, Zachary. He was gathering confetti off the arena floor and stuffing it into his backpack.
"I have a lot of (Pittsburgh) Penguins fans at school," he said. "So I'll show them that."
Free tickets to get into Capital One Arena on Thursday were gone within minutes of them being made available Wednesday. The block party outside stretched down F and G streets across from the arena in a sea of red.

Among those outside was Scott Knuth, who set up his lawn chair across the street from the giant video screens on G Street, across from the National Portrait Gallery, at 2:15 p.m. and didn't move until the game ended.
"I've been tingling all day," said Knuth, who was born in Washington and lives in Springfield, Virginia. "I think the whole town has been buzzing."