Washington Capitals

Capital One Arena holds about 18,573 for hockey and sits in the Penn Quarter neighborhood of downtown DC at 7th and F Streets NW. The Capitals won their first Stanley Cup in 2018 after decades as a regular-season team that struggled in the playoffs. Alex Ovechkin's journey to that Cup - 13 years of regular-season excellence, five Hart Trophies, multiple 50-goal seasons, and consecutive first-round exits - made the 2018 championship one of the more emotionally resonant moments in recent NHL history. Ovechkin is now chasing Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal-scoring record and the building tracks his pursuit of 894 on every home game night.

Penn Quarter has become one of Washington's better restaurant neighborhoods, partly because of the arena's anchor effect on the block. Chinatown on H Street NW - which has become less genuinely Chinese and more of a branding construct over the years - has sports bars and restaurants that handle the pregame traffic. Jaleo on 7th Street is worth a visit if you want tapas before a game. The area is directly accessible by Metro on the Red, Green, and Yellow lines at Gallery Place-Chinatown station, which makes driving from the suburbs unnecessary and inadvisable.

The Capitals have maintained playoff-caliber competitiveness through the roster transitions that followed the 2018 championship. The fan base has been rewarded for its patience and shows up for big home games.

Find Capitals tickets through Evil Tickets and see what's coming up at Capital One Arena this season.