Does anyone want to talk about the Capitals...

[SherVaughn30]

or are they still just a fraud to people?!

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[BallardEra]

They are built with the sole focus to get Ovechkin to 895.

 

[Jacob]

No sorry.

 

[Cappy76]

Easy jinx thread

 

[SherVaughn30]

They are built with the sole focus to get Ovechkin to 895.

Strongly disagree! They are more than that. You don't get the 3rd best record overall and #1 offense, trying to get your 20 year vet the goal scoring record!

 

[DitchMarner]

Nah... they're good. I've watched them quite a bit this season.

They have a good defense. Chychrun was a great addition. They also brought in Roy, and Sandin has developed into a legit top four defenseman. They still have Carlson.

There's a lot of talent up front. They should be even better when Ovechkin returns. He's a good fit for their style of play.

 

[PlushMinus]

Strongly disagree! They are more than that. You don't get the 3rd best record overall and #1 offense, trying to get your 20 year vet the goal scoring record!

He was being sarcastic - BallardEra is a Caps fan (err half of one anyway)

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

Discuss the Caps? As the great Bartleby (the scrivener) once said- I prefer not to.

Ok I’m just jealous.

 

[Skolman]

Frauds in the sense that they aren't Stanley Cup contenders, or?

I don't think anyone seriously believes they have a legitimate shot at that.

They are off to a nice start to the regular season though

 

[John Mandalorian]

I’m good. No thanks.

 

[HTFN]

Frauds in the sense that they aren't Stanley Cup contenders, or?

I don't think anyone seriously believes they have a legitimate shot at that.

They are off to a nice start to the regular season though

I’m not sure I see why not. Number one contender? No, but a non-zero shot. It’s an outstandingly well rounded team getting quality from names people don’t know yet, and a great coach maximizing the games of players with “damaged goods” tags. It’s a success in the conjunction of pro scouting and coaching,

Take the names away: three of the top 6 are point per game, one has 34 in 23. Two other guys have 20 and 19 in 23 and the last guy is the one eating matchup centers.

Five D average from 18:21 to 19:59, so they’re clearly able to roll all their pairs without sheltering much, 4 of the 6 also hovering at .5 points per game or above, a high quality 4th (3rd, really) matchup line and already fixed their weakest spot (3C) by game 20.

If goaltending and injury holds that team competes with anybody, and those are the things most likely to ruin anybody. The only other thing you can say about these guys is that they’re disappointed by what they’re getting from the guys with like 10 minutes ATOI.

 

[bambamcam4ever]

I’m not sure I see why not. Number one contender? No, but a non-zero shot. It’s an outstandingly well rounded team getting quality from names people don’t know yet, and a great coach maximizing the games of players with “damaged goods” tags. It’s a success in the conjunction of pro scouting and coaching,

Take the names away: three of the top 6 are point per game, one has 34 in 23. Two other guys have 20 and 19 in 23 and the last guy is the one eating matchup centers.

Five D average from 18:21 to 19:59, so they’re clearly able to roll all their pairs without sheltering much, 4 of the 6 also hovering at .5 points per game or above, a high quality 4th (3rd, really) matchup line and already fixed their weakest spot (3C) by game 20.

If goaltending and injury holds that team competes with anybody, and those are the things most likely to ruin anybody. The only other thing you can say about these guys is that they’re disappointed by what they’re getting from the guys with like 10 minutes ATOI.

"One has 34 in 23." Yes, Dylan Strome, he who has never cracked 70 points and is now on pace for 120 at age 27. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that's not going to continue.

 

[ORRFForever]

Yes, Dylan Strome, he who has never cracked 70 points and is now on pace for 120 at age 27. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that's not going to continue.

^^ You never know. ^^

Also, Connon McMichael has come out of now where -

24 Games / 14 Goals / 10 Assists / PPG / +10

 

[Turin]

I’m going to continue to ignore them in the hope that they go back to being bad

 

[VaporTrail]

I'd rather not talk about the Capitals.

 

[HTFN]

"One has 34 in 23." Yes, Dylan Strome, he who has never cracked 70 points and is now on pace for 120 at age 27. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that's not going to continue.

And nobody’s saying he will, but the odds of that working out to a point per game 1C aren’t bad, and that was really the point. Nobody eyeballing this team at this point should be ignoring what’s happening unless they’re doubling down on a bias.

If the worst you can say is that they won’t have a 100 point forward I’m okay with that. Those aren’t a playoff requirement, but this solid and productive top 6 and versatile defense corps is kind of the staple of good playoff teams.

This is a good team winning tough games without having to deviate into the “we’re overwhelmed and trapping” hole of last year thanks to prospect growth and solid pro scouting adds.

 

[FissionFire]

Don’t the Capitols have a ridiculously high PDO right now? I think it was like 1.036 last I checked. That will definitely regress as the season goes on. They also have the highest shooting % in the league over 13% which is 2% higher than any other team. Washington will eventually come crashing back down to earth once things even out.

Just to give context, the highest PDO team last year was 1.024 and highest shooting % was 10.5%

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

What we should talk about is the best coach in the league doing his magic with a much improved roster.

Carbs’ post game speeches could motivate anyone to run through a wall for him