I got a question for you: The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team is a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Capitals played at the Capital Centre from their inaugural season in 1974 to 1997, when they moved to the MCI Center, now known as the Capital One Arena. In 42 completed seasons, the Capitals have qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs 27 times, making two Stanley Cup Finals appearances during the 1997 -- 98 and 2017 -- 18 seasons, winning the latter.

Based on this passage, when was the last time the capitals made the finals?
Let's think first:

Show your work and conclude with the exact phrasing "Therefore, the final answer is [answer]." where [answer] is just the final number or expression that solves the problem.
user
The relevant sentence in the passage is: In 42 completed seasons, the Capitals have qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs 27 times, making two Stanley Cup Finals appearances during the 1997 -- 98 and 2017 -- 18 seasons, winning the latter.
Therefore, the answer is 2017 -- 18.