Does anyone want to talk about the Capitals

[tfwnogf]

Remember the narrative "caps aren't even trying to be good, they're just coasting on Ovechki's goal record, literally don't care about anything else" so much for that. Also nice to see PL Dubois redemption arc. He must have a wall of gold stars by now.

 

[Suntouchable13]

NJ vs. Washington in the 2nd round will be very interesting. But, can any of them beat Florida or even Tampa in the ECF?

 

[um]

NJ vs. Washington in the 2nd round will be very interesting. But, can any of them beat Florida or even Tampa in the ECF?

Florida has lost a lot of players, like every great team in the Cap era. Tampa is not particularly scary.

I’d say the East is pretty open, with Florida on top by default.

 

[Melkor]

Can confidently say that Dubois, Protas and Thompson are the three best players of this team at this point of the season. Expect from Strome, Ovechkin and Carlson to step it up a bit for them to be more solid come playoff time.

 

[DingDongCharlie]

Capitals were smart to target right hand catching goalies. NHL shooters simply would be more use to shooting on left hand catching goalies just by the vast disparity of left vs right. Capitals have 2 of only handful of them. Probably not by coincidence.

I think this a competitive advantage they have tapped into that is something that's been overlooked and not really talked about. We've seen a few teams run at points with 2 right hand goalies but typically both have been at a backup level of play, not both starters, with 1 torching the league. I don't think we've seen this, least not in decades. Correct me if wrong.

Thompson is a stud. That extension for his level of play was a great deal for Washington.

Capitals been a huge surprise to me this season. There's also the Ovie goal watch. Must be nice for Caps fans. I doubt many expected the team to be at this level right now.

 

[BallardEra]

Caps have only one regulation loss in their last 16 games.

10-1-5

 

[BelovedIsles]

I give credit when it’s due; that roster doesn’t scream second best team in the league and they pretty much maintained that throughout the season.

 

[Pablo El Perro]

I've heard they are a PDO team, which means they have too much goalie.

 

[GRob83]

Up to 100 points now and leading Carolina by 12 points. Still 1st in Regulation Wins and Points%. Still leading in comeback wins. Multiple 30 Goal Scorers with Ovechkin and Wilson while Protas is sitting at 29, McMichael at 24, Strome at 22, PLD and Chychrun at 18. The Hurricanes have caught fire since trading Rantanen (didn't see that coming) but the Capitals have been so consistently good. Where is the weakness with this team? I don't see one.

 

[Nemesis Prime]

They're winning the cup this year.

 

[philip]

Up to 100 points now and leading Carolina by 12 points. Still 1st in Regulation Wins and Points%. Still leading in comeback wins. Multiple 30 Goal Scorers with Ovechkin and Wilson while Protas is sitting at 29, McMichael at 24, Strome at 22, PLD and Chychrun at 18. The Hurricanes have caught fire since trading Rantanen (didn't see that coming) but the Capitals have been so consistently good. Where is the weakness with this team? I don't see one.

The only thing you could say is... Being really picky... The goalies? Will Thompsons arsehole fallout in the playoffs? Will we need Lindgren who's not really top level? Plus other than 2018 the Caps have a habit of losing to teams in playoff series they really ought beat. The Caps level this year has been massive though hasn't it. So much depth

 

[Demandedace]

The only thing you could say is... Being really picky... The goalies? Will Thompsons arsehole fallout in the playoffs? Will we need Lindgren who's not really top level? Plus other than 2018 the Caps have a habit of losing to teams in playoff series they really ought beat. The Caps level this year has been massive though hasn't it. So much depth

Outside of 2018 though, our team has lacked consistent contributions from depth players. This year our depth is incredibly strong - our top six is playing fantastically while our bottom 6 is constantly chipping in, and our blue line has been extremely active offensively (though, this has led to them being in poor positions many a time recently)

I'm cautiously optimistic as we approach the playoffs, could be a really fun time as long as we stay healthy (which we have been extremely fortunate with this season, outside of losing Ovi for a while)

 

[Sky04]

Feels like we've seen this song and dance with the Caps before and it ends in the 2nd round or worse.

 

[SkinsFan09]

Ryan Leonard is on the way as soon as BC loses in the NCAA tournament.

 

[Demandedace]

Feels like we've seen this song and dance with the Caps before and it ends in the 2nd round or worse.

We've seen this song and dance with top-heavy Capitals. This version is extremely balanced and exceedingly well coached - whole different animal

 

[Nicko999]

I feel they are overachieving this year.
I just cannot put a team that has Dylan Strome as their leading scorer as serious contenders.

Similar to New Jersey 2 years when they had 110+ pts.

 

[Mr Nogatco]

p

I feel they are overachieving this year.
I just cannot put a team that has Dylan Strome as their leading scorer as serious contenders.

Similar to New Jersey 2 years when they had 110+ pts.

I tend to agree, I’ll believe it when I see it

Playoffs should be entertaining either way

 

[TrufleShufle]

Feels like we've seen this song and dance with the Caps before and it ends in the 2nd round or worse.

3rd round?

 

[SkinsFan09]

I feel they are overachieving this year.
I just cannot put a team that has Dylan Strome as their leading scorer as serious contenders.

Similar to New Jersey 2 years when they had 110+ pts.

That's partly a function of TOI. PLD and Protas are bigger producers and Ovechkin would also be ahead of Strome if not for the injury earlier this year. If Protas got literally any PP time he'd be one of the top scorers in the NHL. Absolute monster at even strength.

This Caps team is better at even strength than the 2018 Cup team but that team's powerplay really turned on in the playoffs at over 29%. This powerplay isn't as good.

Will also be interesting to see how quickly Ryan Leonard can translate to the NHL.

 

[Bank Shot]

The only thing you could say is... Being really picky... The goalies? Will Thompsons arsehole fallout in the playoffs? Will we need Lindgren who's not really top level? Plus other than 2018 the Caps have a habit of losing to teams in playoff series they really ought beat. The Caps level this year has been massive though hasn't it. So much depth

Strome, Dubois doesn't scream Cup winning center depth. If they win Stanley, it would be an exception.

 

[Sky04]

3rd round?

In the 19 years Ovechkin has been in the league, the caps have advanced to the 3rd round once.

 

[Tralfamadore]

Every year there's a largely overachieving team. Last year was Van. Year before was NJ. Seems like the Caps are the team to fill those shoes this year. Doesn't mean they can't win in the playoffs though. Actually I like their chances more than the other teams I mentioned in their respective playoffs. I just don't think they'll be a top team again next year.

 

[Bear of Bad News]

They're winning the cup this year.

Capitals - Jets could be a lot of fun because then we could see another year of "ARE THE CANADIAN FANS RALLYING AROUND THEIR CANADIAN TEAM?" articles.

 

[SkinsFan09]

Every year there's a largely overachieving team. Last year was Van. Year before was NJ. Seems like the Caps are the team to fill those shoes this year. Doesn't mean they can't win in the playoffs though. Actually I like their chances more than the other teams I mentioned in their respective playoffs. I just don't think they'll be a top team again next year.

Backstrom and Oshie's contracts come off the books after this season and they are going to add Ryan Leonard who is a legit top 6 talent. They have a lot of money to play around with this offseason and are probably not going away.