The Washington Capitals saw a couple of their former players in Nate Schmidt and Vitek Vanecek hoist the Stanley Cup for the first time on Tuesday, as the Florida Panthers clinched their second consecutive championship with a 5-1 win in Game 6 over the Edmonton Oilers. Schmidt, who signed his first NHL contract with Washington in 2013, spent four years in D.C. and was taken by the Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL expansion draft in 2017. He faced the Capitals in the Stanley Cup Final that season, but fell to his former club in five games. After time with the Golden Knights, Winnipeg Jets and Vancouver Canucks, he signed with Florida this past summer. In 80 games with the Panthers in the regular season, he picked up four goals and 15 assists for 19 points, and then added 12 points in 23 playoff games, including five in the Final, en route to his first title. He was given the Cup first by Aleksander Barkov and told to take it all the way around the rink after spending 12 years chasing it. Meanwhile, Vanecek, a second-round pick by Washington in 2014, spent nine years in the organization before being traded to the New Jersey Devils. He'd started the year with the San Jose Sharks and joined Florida at the trade deadline, replacing Spencer Knight as Sergei Bobrovsky's backup. In seven games with Florida to close out the regular season, he went 2-4-1 with a 3.00 GAA and .890 save percentage. In 25 total games this season, he went 5-14-4 with a 3.62 GAA and .884 save percentage. He didn't in any playoff games, but stirred the pot against Stuart Skinner in Games 4 and 6 after warming up in front of him and staring him down. Both also spent time developing with the AHL's Hershey Bears, who remain D.C.'s affiliate.
