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[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 542 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

<DOC>

115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 542

Congratulating the Washington Capitals for winning the 2018 Stanley Cup 
                          hockey championship.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 12, 2018

  Mr. Van Hollen (for himself, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Kaine, and Mr. Warner) 
 submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
Congratulating the Washington Capitals for winning the 2018 Stanley Cup 
                          hockey championship.

Whereas, on June 7, 2018, the Washington Capitals won the 2018 Stanley Cup 
        hockey championship;
Whereas the Capitals, in their 44th year playing in the National Hockey League, 
        won their first Stanley Cup;
Whereas the Capitals defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final 
        in 5 games, clinching the series with 4 wins and 1 loss, including 4 
        wins in a row to close out the series;
Whereas the Capitals overcame 3 series deficits to 3 opponents en route to the 
        Stanley Cup Final, defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Pittsburgh 
        Penguins, and the Tampa Bay Lightning to clinch the Eastern Conference 
        title and win their second Prince of Wales Trophy;
Whereas the Capitals became the first team from Washington, DC, in the 4 major 
        professional sports leagues in the United States to win a championship 
        since 1992;
Whereas the Capitals overcame years of heartbreak to advance past the second 
        round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 1998;
Whereas tens of thousands of Capitals fans watched Game 5 of the Stanley Cup 
        Final outside of Capital One Arena in Washington, DC;
Whereas Ted Leonsis, chief executive officer of Monumental Sports and owner of 
        the Washington Capitals since 1999, has built a culture of success and 
        contributed greatly to the Washington, DC, community through 
        philanthropy;
Whereas John Walton, radio announcer for the Capitals, is beloved by Capitals 
        fans and prophetically asserted this playoffs, ``It's OK to believe.'';
Whereas Alexander Ovechkin, captain of the Washington Capitals since 2010 and 
        the first overall pick in the 2004 National Hockey League draft, 
        exhibited extraordinary leadership and delivered superstar-caliber play, 
        leading all scorers in the Stanley Cup playoffs with 15 goals and 
        receiving the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player for the 
        2018 Stanley Cup playoffs;
Whereas during the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs, Braden Holtby recorded a 
        remarkable 0.922 save percentage and 2 shutouts;
Whereas during the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs, Evgeny Kuznetsov recorded 32 
        points, including 12 goals and 20 assists, the second most points scored 
        in a Stanley Cup playoff year since 1997, and was only the fifth player 
        to record 30 or more points in a single Stanley Cup playoff year since 
        1997;
Whereas Barry Trotz, head coach of the Capitals, and the entire coaching staff 
        kept the Capitals composed and organized, despite facing obstacles and 
        adversity throughout the regular season and Stanley Cup playoffs; and
Whereas the entire Capitals roster banded together as one family to contribute 
        to the Stanley Cup victory, including Nicklas Backstrom, Jay Beagle, 
        Travis Boyd, Madison Bowey, Andre Burakovsky, John Carlson, Alex 
        Chiasson, Brett Connolly, Pheonix Copley, Christian Djoos, Lars Eller, 
        Shane Gersich, Philipp Grubauer, Braden Holtby, Jakub Jerabek, Michal 
        Kempny, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Matt Niskanen, Dmitry Orlov, Brooks Orpik, 
        T.J. Oshie, Alex Ovechkin, Devante Smith-Pelly, Chandler Stephenson, 
        Jakub Vrana, Nathan Walker, and Tom Wilson: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) congratulates the Washington Capitals and their 
        dedicated fans for becoming the 2018 National Hockey League 
        Stanley Cup champions; and
            (2) respectfully directs the Secretary of the Senate to 
        transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution to--
                    (A) the founder, chairman, majority owner, and 
                chief executive officer of Monumental Sports and owner 
                of the Washington Capitals, Ted Leonsis;
                    (B) the senior vice president and general manager 
                of the Washington Capitals, Brian MacLellan; and
                    (C) the head coach of the Washington Capitals, 
                Barry Trotz.
                                 <all>
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