Well, at least for Washington Capitals fans.
When Capitals social media asked Tom Wilson for his Super Bowl pick a few days ago, Wilson said, “I’m not rooting for Philly.”
Truly, words many of us can relate to. But a day after the Philadelphia Eagles soundly defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 and captured the Lombardi Trophy, a viral social media post explained why maybe that’s not the worst thing.
Per prominent Capitals fan and local personality Evan Johnson:
Well there is ONE silver lining
Last time the Eagles won the Super Bowl, Caps won the Stanley Cup four months later
— Evan Johnson (@thevoiceofevan) February 10, 2025
Indeed, when the Eagles captured their last championship, defeating the New England Patriots 41-33 on February 4, 2018, the Washington Capitals defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 5 of the 2018 Stanley Cup Final four months and three days later, winning the franchise’s first championship.
The tweet feels even more prophetic considering that, at the 4 Nations Face-Off break, the Capitals have the most standings points (80) in the Eastern Conference after a big offseason makeover brought in seven new players, including Pierre-Luc Dubois, Jakob Chychrun, and Logan Thompson.
On February 4, 2018, the 2017-18 Capitals led the Metropolitan Division with 65 standings points (30-17-5) and were paced in goals by Alex Ovechkin with 32 (18 more than second place Evgeny Kuznetsov). Seven years later, an age-39 Alex Ovechkin leads the Capitals in goals with 26. But Ovechkin is arguably playing even better hockey now, averaging more goals per game (0.667 to 0.615) than 32-year-old Ovi.
Even in goal, if you squint your eyes, things feel familiar.
So, I love Evan’s optimism here. Why not the Caps?!
