NHL Stanley Cup 2018 Champions: Washington Capitals Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

NHL Stanley Cup 2018 Champions: Washington Capitals Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman August 7, 2018

For the 2017-2018 Washington Capitals, winning the Stanley Cup was obviously priority number one heading into the regular season and into the playoffs, as it is for every team, even the first year expansion Vegas Golden Knights. But the team needed to take care of some other business first, namely the Pittsburgh Penguins, the bane of the Capitals playoff existence, a team that was coming off back-to-back Cup championships and was, of course, waiting for Washington in the second round, like clockwork. In a way, beating Pittsburgh and getting the proverbial monkey off the back and actually advancing to the conference final rather than going home early -- again -- after so many memorable, almost steamroller-like regular seasons and subsequent playoff disappointments had to be a top priority and a focus even beyond hoisting Lord Stanley's cup for the first time in franchise history.

Washington, perhaps serendipitously if only to shake things up a bit, actually didn't enter the playoffs as the league's best regular season team as it had the previous two years en route to Capitals-classic second round exits to the eventual Cup champions. Washington racked up 105 points, five better than the Pens but a handful less than Tampa Bay and Boston in the East and Nashville, Winnipeg, and Vegas in the West. Still a great season, but not the dominant effort of years past. Washington, as always, was led by the aging but ever-dangerous Alex Ovechkin. He and the Caps skated into the first round against the Columbus Blue Jackets, a team on the rise with aspirations of making a dent in the playoffs. Things did not begin auspiciously for the Caps, dropping a pair of heartbreaking overtime home games to open the playoffs. But a trip northwest to Columbus seemed to fix Washington. The team rebounded to win game three, 3-2, in double overtime. With both teams playing a lot of high stress hockey right out of the gate, one would think the gruel would favor the more veteran-laden Caps, especially with the momentum of winning on enemy ice. Washington would win game four 4-1, pick up another OT victory at home, and put half a dozen pucks in the net in game six to secure a date with destiny with the ever dangerous Penguins.

It was both the expected matchup and perhaps the nightmare matchup for Washington. Pittsburgh, the thorn in the side and the second round opponent whose ability to oust Washington from the playoffs, almost on a yearly basis, had become the stuff of hockey legend, waited. But if there was a glimmer of hope for Washington, it was that Pittsburgh was coming into the round as the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions, which means the team had played a ton of hockey over the past few seasons. The series opened in Pittsburgh with, what else, a 3-2 loss. Washington rebounded to take game two, 4-1, and the return trip to Washington saw the team maintain momentum and take game three, 4-3, but not without controversy: Washington Forward Tom Wilson's hit to the head on the Penguins' Zach Aston-Reese resulted in the polarizing player receiving what many believed to be a long-overdue three game suspension (he had previously pummeled Alexander Wennberg in the Columbus series). What many hoped would be a demoralizing loss for Washington and a spark for Pittsburgh proved to be neither, despite early returns. Pittsburgh would rally to win game four on home ice by a score of 3-1, but Washington would take a 3-2 series lead with a 6-3 win in game five and win the series in Pittsburgh with a 2-1 overtime victory, breaking what seemed like an insurmountable curse and opening a path to the Cup that would go through the East's top team, Tampa Bay.

The Lightning, just two years removed from the Eastern Conference finals and maybe a skate's edge from a trip to the finals, was this season's top Eastern team and would be a tough matchup for the underdog Caps. But Washington's resilience, and again with Tom Wilson on the ice, skated into Tampa and shocked the Lightning by taking both opening games on the road by scores of 4-2 and 6-2 to return home for a pair...only to lose them both by matching 4-2 scores and drop another on the road, 3-2, suddenly the same deficit Washington faced in the series. But this was just the Caps' year. Facing the adversity of dropping three in a row and the prospect of playing back-to-back elimination games, and with the specter of so much past playoff failure certainly hanging in the air, Washington stepped up its game rather than shrink into the depths. And Braden Holtby would come up huge, earning back-to-back shutouts, including in game seven on the road, to propel the Capitals to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Waiting for Washington was the upstart Vegas Golden Knights, a first-year expansion team that bypassed any and all growing pains and skated straight to the finals with a great chance to win it all, led by, who else, a former Pittsburgh Penguin, Marc-Andre Fleury, in net for Vegas. It always comes back to Pittsburgh for the Capitals. And, like much of these playoffs, things did not begin well for Washington. The series opened in Vegas where the Capitals scored four goals but could not contain the Vegas attack, surrendering half-a-dozen tallies to fall 6-4 and trail the series 1-0. And it wasn't a surprise loss. Vegas had steamrolled through the West, losing only three games in the previous three playoff series, contrasted to the Capitals, a team that had fought hard and faced two elimination games in the East finals. But this wasn't the same old Caps. Washington won a 3-2 nail biter in game two to return home with the series knotted at a game apiece. The Caps swept Vegas at home, winning by scores of 3-1 and 6-2, and the momentum carried the team to the Cup on Vegas ice, winning game five 4-3. Conn Smythe winner: Alex Ovechkin.

At 70 minutes in length, this Washington Capitals playoff video is well-paced and delivers a visually and aurally engaging presentation built around a well structured and comprehensive narrative that speeds through the team's past (early struggles, Ted Leonsis' ownership, drafting Ovechkin and Backstrom, playoff failures against the Penguins, and early struggles in the 2017-2018 season) and builds towards this cup run before diving into the first-round playoff coverage. As the Capitals extend their season with every series win, the video begins to take more and more time to explore the later round games, until finally reaching the Cup finals where each game is given ample breathing room for detailed exploration. Viewers will find, beyond game action, plenty of interviews with players, coaches, and media personalities as well as access inside the locker room. On-ice action is presented with a number of angles not seen on the TV side. It's very well done and while it's a shame NHL isn't releasing each finals game in full as MLB has been doing with its World Series collections, this is certainly going to satisfy Capitals, and hockey, fans with its inside access and excellent presentation.

NHL Stanley Cup 2018 Champions: Washington Capitals Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Washington Capitals 2018 Stanley Cup Champions' 1080p Blu-ray release follows the same visual parameters as the previous 2017 release. Technically, the two are nearly indistinguishable. The image can look gorgeous at times but problematic at others. Heavy noise, occasional macroblocking, and some aliasing intrude, but generally the image delivers a well rounded picture, revealing superior, crisp detailing on the ice and meshy NHL jerseys. Colors are magnificent, with Capitals red and other team jersey colors -- similarly colored Blue Jackets jerseys, Pittsburgh black and gold, Tampa blue -- offering rich, revealing, and well saturated vitality in every scene. The film is made of various sources, so the visuals are inconsistent from one scene, even one shot, to another. But that's the trade-off for the diverse visual presentations the film has on tap.

NHL Stanley Cup 2018 Champions: Washington Capitals Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Washington Capitals 2018 Stanley Cup Champions features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack. The presentation is necessarily basic in terms of delivery and spacing with the limited speaker configuration. The program's sound needs are minimalistic; interview clips, narration, and some on-ice and locker room chatter are amongst the more dominant and prominent sound details. All of the dialogue presents well and is imaged naturally to the center. Support music is nicely fluid and detailed. The track is not demanding but it's all in good, working order.

NHL Stanley Cup 2018 Champions: Washington Capitals Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Washington Capitals 2018 Stanley Cup Champions contains a hodgepodge of various bonus features. A DVD copy of the program is included with purchase. The release ships without a slipcover.

• Extended Locker Room Celebration (1080p, 1:04): The Caps party hard in the locker room after the final game in this anything-but-"extended" look at the festivities.
• Extended On Ice Celebration (1080p, 2:11): More video highlights from the moments after the Caps won the Cup.
• Extended Parade (1080p, 4:41): Video images from Washington's parade.
• Round 1 Wireless Feature (1080i, 1:59): Video and sound highlights from the 2018 playoffs, first round.
• Round 2 Wireless Feature (1080i, 1:51): Video and sound highlights from the 2018 playoffs, second round.
• Round 3 Wireless Feature (1080i, 1:55): Video and sound highlights from the 2018 playoffs, third round.
• Stanley Cup Media Day - Imagine Raising the Cup (1080i, 0:59): Payers from both squads share a few words on the dream of hosting the Cup.
• Stanley Cup Media Day - Player Mic Takeover (1080p, 1:03): Players answer a few off-the-wall questions.
• Stanley Cup Media Day - The Greatest Fans in Sports (1080i, 0:59): Players from both teams discuss their fanbases.
• Stanley Cup Media Day - What's the Toughest Playoff Challenge? (1080i, 0:59): Players discuss the rigors of the NHL playoffs.
• Stanley Cup Media Day - Which Teammate Has Stepped It Up? (1080i, 1:03): Players reveal who has upped their game in the playoffs.
• Stanley Cup Media Day - Who Would You Hand the Cup To? (1080i, 1:01): Players share who they want to share the cup with.
• Stanley Cup Follow (1080i, 1:38): A highlight reel featuring "The Keepers of the Cup."
• Super Slow-Mo: Best of Rounds 1&2 (720p, 12:35): Slow-mo locker room and on-ice footage from the first two rounds.
• Super Slow-Mo: Best of Conference Finals (720p, 3:43): Slow-mo locker room and on-ice footage from the third round.
• Super Slow-Mo: Best of Stanley Cup Final (720p, 4:21): Slow-mo pregame, locker room, and on-ice footage from the third round.
• Super Slow-Mo: Best of Ovi (720p, 3:13): Slow-motion footage of #8 working out, preparing to play, and out on the ice.
• Team Picture (1080i, 1:08): The Caps players and coaches gather for the team photograph with the Cup.

NHL Stanley Cup 2018 Champions: Washington Capitals Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The NHL's Cup highlight videos set an industry standard, and this one is no different. Even though this reviewer is a die-hard Penguins fan who revels in Washington's annual crash-and-burn antics in the playoffs, this video's presentation eases the sting of reliving Washington's run to the Stanley Cup. Washington Capitals 2018 Stanley Cup Champions delivers excellent video and audio. Supplements are extensive but not particularly meaningful. A must-buy for Caps fans.