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Are Capitals pretenders or real contenders?

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Golden_Jet said:
Goals, PP per game down, save percentage down from last year.
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Looking at team stats....

Caps are top in goals scored, top 3 in goals against

Last year they were bottom 5 in goals scored and mid pack in goals against

It's about a half goal more scored per game and dropping GAA about half a goal
 
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NVious said:
On paper they look like a good group, their results are basically if everything goes your way, all your acquisitions play to-above their expectations, all your vets play to-above their expectations, all your young guys play to-above their expectations.

It could be a sign of a team overperforming or a really solid core coming together. Impossible to say.
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Yeah it's like I'm sure I could write a well-reasoned post that talks about why they could fall

But it's hard to fight against the intangible of a happy team where everything is going right

Having seen Cup teams win with just above-average skill and a bucket of intangibles, I don't argue with magic, haha. But it's like...things are going right until they aren't. They haven't been punched in the mouth yet; IF that happens, we'll see.
 
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To me it's remarkable the way they rebuilt their defense so quickly on Cap Hit castoffs. Chychrun for Jensen and a 3rd was a surprising move from the Sens.

I think the President's Trophy is theirs. Where that goes in the playoffs we'll see. Carolina against Washington seems like a close matchup, where goaltending is likely the difference.
 
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um said:
Obviously I'm biased but I'll say contender:

- They have a strong top six and fourth line. The third line is meh. There's no elite superstar, but I'd say all of Ovechkin, Strome, Wilson, Protas, McMichael, and Dubois are top-line players.

- They have very good defence from 1-6. I'd argue we've got 6 top 4 dman. But no elite #1 dman.

- We've got two good goalies, with Thompson playing great. Maybe the shared-net thing will doom us.

The Panthers are still the team to beat in the East. Tampa and Carolina have playoff success that is a factor. But the East is mostly wide open.
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Carlson is still a top 15 defenseman in the league

FanDuel has them 7th in Cup odds slightly behind COL, EDM, VGK, CAR and slightly ahead of WPG and TBL before a jump to TOR then another to LAK. Seems about right to me
 
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Contenders yes, favourites no. I find that usually when a team's roster isn't as good as its regular season performance, that team usually underwhelms in the playoffs. It's not always that way, but I'd also say that Washington falls under that designation for now.
 
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It will be interesting to see if they rest players for the cup or go all out for the goal record. They clinched the playoff spot and are closing in on the conference position.They have an envious position to safe guard the key guys for a long playoff run.
 
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SEALBound said:
I have no idea honestly. I think the Metro is relatively weak as is the entire East minus 2-3 teams. It's tough to see them standing up against Florida, Dallas, Winnipeg, Colorado, or even Vegas but...we shall see. To me, a first round exit would be as shocking as a cup win.
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Capitals record vs. these teams is 7-2-2. They could win a series against any of these teams (or lose for sure).

- Florida (3-0-0)
- Dallas (1-1-0)
- Winnipeg (0-0-2)
- Colorado (1-1-0)
- Vegas (2-0-0)
 
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banks said:
I think it's impossible now to deny that they're contenders.

The average fan is distracted by the Ovie goal chase and isn't noticing the rest of the team is also playing like a well oiled machine.
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In 5 v 5 situations

Points/60

Protas is 2nd in the NHL
PLD is 4th
Ovechkin is 6th
McMichael is 18th.

Goals/60

Ovechkin is 2nd in the NHL
McMichael is 7th
Protas is 14th

Assists/60

Pierre Luc-Dubois is 3rd in the NHL
Protas is 6th


Ryan Leonard is a wild card - can he come up from BC and charge that third line with offense? He's a legit top 6 talent. To me if they go on a deep run, Protas will be their MVP. He is a monster physically, on the forecheck and creates all sorts of scoring chances with his reach and finesse.
 
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