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Are Capitals pretenders or real contenders?

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I can’t conceive any 1st place team being called a pretender. The meaning behind that word indicates that they are not to be taken seriously.

Even if they lose spectacularly by getting swept in the 1st round, that still wouldn’t make them pretenders.

Tampa got swept by CBJ in 2019 after having one of the most dominant regular seasons of all time. They proceeded to win back-to-back Cups in 2020/21.
 
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FlappyGiraffe said:
People are underrating the caps they're the best team the Jets have played all season based on our two meetings.

Feels like half their team are giants, in the playoffs they are just gonna beat down their opponents over 7 games with their forecheck.
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Watching the Caps Jets game the other night ..

Lots of us Caps fans were commenting how physically big the Jets are, especially up the middle. Both teams are so well rounded. If the Caps are top 5 in all 3 units - goaltending, D and scoring ... Jets are No. 1 in all those.

Jets > Caps
 
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quackquackquack said:
Curious for those who think the Caps are Pretenders...how do you feel about Winnipeg, Dallas, Toronto, and Carolina?
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I think Winnipeg and Dallas are far more likely to win the cup than Toronto, Carolina or Washington personally. But those are 2 of my top favourites this year. For me, I have Dallas as my #1 contender for the cup this year if Heiskanen returns healthy in the playoffs. The West is a bloodbath this year. Washington should have an easier path to the conference finals than the teams in the West and Atlantic do. Not that they have it easy, Carolina and New Jersey are still good teams that could surprise.
 
Pretenders. I just don't see enough talent up front. Everyone seems to be having a career year and that's not recipe for long-term success.

As a Habs fan, I would prefer playing Washington than any other Eastern Conference team save for Toronto.
 
Mr Nogatco said:
Maybe. I would guess most playoff teams have a handful of guys with little to no prior experience though. As long as there are enough vets who have been there before to set the tone I don't think that's necessarily a massive disadvantage.

Caps also have a lot of guys who came up through Hershey and were a part of deep runs there (back to back Calder Cups) and that experience shouldn't be discounted.. AHL playoff MVP Hendrix Lapierre was probably the best Cap vs the Rangers last year despite having no NHL playoff experience
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Most playoff teams will have some players with little experience.

But any legitimate contender have a pretty seasoned core. You'll get a few Cinderella runs here and there to the Conference finals, but if you look at any cup champion all their cores they all had a few disappointing early round exits before getting over the hump.

Calder Cup experience is great, but honestly it doesn't compare. The NHL playoffs is a completely different beast. You watched the previous Caps teams fizzle out early for almost a decade before winning the cup. Experience matters.
 
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PAZ said:
Most playoff teams will have some players with little experience.

But any legitimate contender have a pretty seasoned core. You'll get a few Cinderella runs here and there to the Conference finals, but if you look at any cup champion all their cores they all had a few disappointing early round exits before getting over the hump.

Calder Cup experience is great, but honestly it doesn't compare. The NHL playoffs is a completely different beast. You watched the previous Caps teams fizzle out early for almost a decade before winning the cup. Experience matters.
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No disagreement here. But you're talking about SC winning teams, the poster I responded to has them losing in the 1st or 2nd round due to playoff inexperience, which I find less convincing.

Tbh I would be more concerned about Carberry's lack of NHL playoff experience more so than the roster as a whole.
 
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LPHabsFan said:
They are definitely giving off Boston Bruins vibes from the past few years so a 1st round exit wouldn't be surprising.
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It depends how they match against teams in the playoffs. That year I never looked at the standings and the Panthers, during the regular season, were beating the Bruins with relative ease. I thought they were battling us for 8th place. It turned out, our playstyle was their achilles heel and I'm living under a rock.
Similarly, the Caps might have their kryptonite, but maybe it won't be in the way.
 
They are a very interesting/intriguing team this year. The last few years suggested the Caps were much closer to a rebuild than contending. They've gotten back into the playoffs a few times since their Cup win in '18 but haven't won a series since then. They have a lot of young players and acquired veterans who have zero experience playing winning playoff hockey. But they also do still have a handful of key players from their Cup run who do have a lot of playoff experience. Great coaching and the whole is definitely greater than the sum of their parts. But they do have weaknesses and on paper are a weak contender.

I really have no idea how they'll do in the playoffs, neither a deep run nor a quick 1st round exit would surprise me in the least. I do consider them a contender but I wouldn't put money on them winning the cup. If I had to guess, they make it to round 2 or 3 with whichever round they are eliminated in being a hard-fought close series where they just come up short in 6-7 games with some OT losses mixed in.

Also, I think it's pretty clear the hype and excitement surrounding Ovi's record chase is contributing to the team's success this year. I don't view this as being a huge factor but I could see that dying down come playoffs whether he breaks the record before then or not and it could have a bit of a letdown effect on the team.
 
I said it the other day in the other thread - this topic made sense back in December, but still questioning whether the NHL leading Caps who are at/near the top in both GF/GA and excellent EV% is insane.

The team is deep and it is healthy. If guys start to get injured, sure - all bets are off. As long as they are healthy though they are quite obviously contenders.
 
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I would say contenders. Ovy has found his goal scoring touch this year. Wilson is healthy and playing very well.
PLD seems to be motivated. etc. No one is running away point wise and seems to be a solid group effort.

They've retooled very nicely. Are they as good as their record? Probably.

Playoffs series sometimes can get funny, but I think they have the leadership, as a few guys are still on the team from their last cup win, to help keep the poise.

Thompson has been very good as their goalie, and their backup is playing well for the #2.
 
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Ovie will break the goalscoring record. After that, they will close the franchise in washington with the words: Everything has been said and done :sarcasm:
 
I don't think caps or jets come close to the cup. I have nothing against them. Both are playing amazing. I just don't see it based on my hunch.lol.

East is Florida and west is a dog race between knights, AVS and stars.

So watch the final be Jets vs caps. Which i would be fine with. Nothing against either team.
 
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Nicko999 said:
Pretenders. I just don't see enough talent up front. Everyone seems to be having a career year and that's not recipe for long-term success.

As a Habs fan, I would prefer playing Washington than any other Eastern Conference team save for Toronto.
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And I'm sure the Caps would love to play the Habs if your garbage team somehow squeaks into the playoffs :laugh:
 
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