The Washington Capitals are the best team in the Eastern Conference with just a few weeks remaining in the regular season. Their complete reversal from staring down a rebuild to Stanley Cup contender is one of the most impressive feats of the NHL season. Their captain is on the verge of history and their championship outlook is bright.
How did the Capitals do this? It's a question the entire hockey community is asking. and understandably so. There's the surface level answers, the ones that are easiest to see. Alex Ovechkin putting on a once in a lifetime season at age 39 while chasing down the all-time goal scoring record is a catalyst for the entire team. Then there's the improved goaltending situation with the acquisition of Logan Thompson. His presence has been a huge difference maker for the Caps and their season outlook.
These are both two crucial reasons for the Caps' turnaround, but the answer lies deeper than just "they improved the roster." Yes, the organization succeeded at adding talent to the roster, but talent alone means nothing.
What the Caps did was acquire talent that complemented the core they had in tact and maximized their even strength offense. Two of the most important young players on the team are Connor McMichael and Aliaksei Protas. The organization identified that they each needed more help to reach the next level of production. McMichael needed a play-driving center to help set him up and Protas needed something similar to feed him the puck in the slot and around the net.
The solution? Bring in straight-line center Pierre-Luc Dubois. With Dubois in the mix, it allowed their best playmaking center, Dylan Strome, to slot next to McMichael and Tom Wilson while Dubois centers Ovechkin and Protas.
The results speak for themselves. Wilson has 30 goals, McMichael has 24, Protas has 29, and Dubois has 60 points in his first campaign in Washington. Between Dubois, McMichael, and Protas, they have just six power play goals, meaning a vast majority are coming at even strength.
The change in offensive identity has completely turned this team around. They are a deadly offensive team, capable of running four lines with ease on an opponent. Each line possesses play drivers, finishers, and aggressive forecheckers. The combination has the Caps back in contention and arguably the Stanley Cup favorites entering the 2025 postseason.
Capitals' Alex Ovechkin still focused on playoffs despite NHL record chase
Alex Ovechkin helped the Washington Capitals secure a 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, scoring his 888th career goal.
The tally put him within reach of record-holder Wayne Gretzky, who finished his career with 894. Ovechkin has 13 more games this season to break the record.
Ovechkin was the first to score during the game after a blocked shot by the Flyers resulted in Aliaksei Protas finding the loose puck and passing it to Ovechkin, who fired it in with a shot that deflected off goalie Samuel Ersson’s right pad.
Brandon Duhaime scored the second goal during the second period, his eighth of the season, and Andrew Mangiapane scored the final point for the Capitals at 11:06. Ovechkin was quick to point out that winning the game wasn’t all about scoring and that Charlie Lindgren’s 27 saves as goalie were critical.
The victory secured their playoff spot and made them the first team in the NHL to score 100 standing points this season.
"Our goal was to make the playoffs this year,” Ovechkin said. “It’s hard. Every game, it’s hard, especially at the end because every team is fighting. That’s why in the beginning of the year and the middle of the year, it’s very important to [be] collecting the points and feel comfortable at the end. Last year, it took us 82 games to clinch it, and since 20 games left last year, it was playoffs for us already. We take it and move on."
Ovechkin has been the face of the Capitals for nearly two decades, and his prolific scoring in pursuit of the Gretzky record has been a topic of discussion among many hockey fans for years.
With the record about to be broken, every game acts as a countdown as anticipation builds. Will the next one be the night he makes history?
