Game 7 isn’t at home for Capitals, but fans still pack Capital One Arena

Despite Game 7 being on the road in Tampa Bay, Washington Capitals fans have turned up in droves for the watch party at Capital One Arena.

This is without a doubt the most important game for the Washington Capitals in some time — 20 years, by our count. For Caps fans who are sick of hearing about their team not being able get over the hump with Alexander Ovechkin on the roster, this is like a fever dream.

And if you needed more proof, just take a quick trip down to Capital One Arena in Washington (if you’re in the area) and see what we’re talking about. No, the Capitals aren’t at home tonight. They’re on the road for Game 7 of their Eastern Conference Final series against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Does it matter? Nah, fans have shown up in droves anyway for the watch party.

In fact, as I’m writing this, Ovechkin has already popped one behind Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy. He did it about a minute in, so imagine how pumped that crowd at Capital One Arena must be right off the bat. Oh wait, we have footage. Check it out:

Granted, this is nothing new. Arenas have road parties like this in most major sports, but we love it. The whole thing looks like a super hyped-up high school basketball contest, except it’s simply a bunch of fans gathering around the largest screen in the city to cheer on a club that’s been snakebitten for far too long.

And if Washington goes on to win this one and advance to the Stanley Cup Final? We expect the footage to be even more raucous. Just don’t tear the place apart from all the joy.

Next: 10 reasons Stanley Cup Playoffs are better than NBA Playoffs

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