When the Washington Capitals beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals on Wednesday, the team not only put itself in a Stanley Cup finals for the first time since 1998 — and just the second time in franchise history — but it got the team’s star, Alex Ovechkin, off the hook. He is no longer the greatest player in N.H.L. history not to get to the league finals.
Ovechkin, 32, has never lacked for personal achievements in his 13-year career. He has led the N.H.L. in goals seven times and in points once.