As their core players return, Capitals prepare for playoffs

It is hard to have any doubt in the Capitals. Washington has been a constant at the top of the Eastern Conference for a decade and a half, making the playoffs all but one time in that run, and being a dominant force while doing so. However, if there was any year to be cautious about the Caps’ chances of making it back to the playoffs before the season began, the general consensus was that this year would have to be it. Washington limped into the second wild card spot at the end of last season, en route to elimination in six games to the Florida Panthers. Washington’s goaltending duo couldn’t hold up, and key players went missing as Washington found themselves out of the playoffs in the first round for the fourth straight year.

The Capitals addressed the goaltending issue in free agency, picking up Darcy Kuemper, who served as the netminder for the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche. However, the offseason also brought news that core players Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson had suffered long-term injuries; Wilson had suffered a torn ACL in the playoff loss to Florida, and Backstrom had issues re-emerge in regards to his hip that would force him to undergo a hip resurfacing surgery that was notorious for being difficult to come back from, potentially spelling the end of his career. Both injuries were hard to timetable, and the impact that their losses would have on the team’s performance would be even harder to map. Regardless, with a weakened core and a series of early exits, doubt began to grow about if Washington would be competing for the Stanley Cup past the regular season. 

For a moment, the doubts began to seem valid. A 5-2 loss in the season opener to Boston set the tone for an abysmal first month of play, including an eleven-game run between Halloween and mid-November where the Capitals could only muster up two wins. Ironically, part of this slide is due to poor goaltending from Kuemper, who found himself getting pulled from games more often than a team would hope their marquee free-agent signing would. After 20 games, the Capitals were next to last in the Metropolitan Division and looked dead in the water even as the ship began to right itself back towards winning hockey. 

Then, in December, the Capitals found their footing. They won 11 of the 15 games they played in, and by the time the champagne popped to bring in 2023, Washington was firmly in the top three of their division, and back into the playoff positions. All of this was achieved in spite of an injury to Kuemper that put the goalie out of commission for a large part of December for backup Charlie Lindgren, but the Capitals’ run was due to increased offensive production from curious sources. 

The usual suspects are all there. Alex Ovechkin’s chase for 800 career goals and second most goals all-time spurred the team captain to 13 goals in the run, matching the 13 he had scored in the first 25 games of the season and putting him back on track to finish the season with 40 goals for what would be a record-breaking tenth time in his career. Evgeny Kuznetsov and Connor Sheary, high-profile players for the previous few years are also firmly in the top five of points for the Capitals. Outside of them, though, it gets weird. Dylan Strome, who was brought to Washington as a free agent during the offseason after fizzling out and being viewed as a draft bust elsewhere, put up the third most points on the team and served Backstrom’s role as the top center on the team exceptionally well, falling just short of getting his first nod to the All-Star Game. Marcus Johansson’s reunion with his first team has seen him come back to the form that made him a fan favorite in DC, being well on pace to have his highest-scoring season since leaving Washington before the 2017-18 season. Erik Gustafsson’s performances may be the most surprising of all, though. The Swede came to Washington from Chicago, just as Strome did, on a one-year deal that was to see if he still had it in him. The offensive defenseman’s answer has been a resounding yes, scoring seven goals, six of them coming in two games, and being exceptional at distributing the puck. With John Carlson suffering from an injury, he’ll be an important source of contribution for the Capitals. Other contributors such as Sonny Milano and Anthony Mantha have helped propel the Capitals up in the standings.

Lest we forget about Wilson and Backstrom, whose return was hinted at when the Capitals hit rock bottom in November. They were “close,” according to reports. Around a month and a half later, on January 5th, both made their season debuts in a 6-2 victory against Columbus. It’ll take some time for them to get settled in, but expect them to be in gear when spring rolls around, with the Capitals likely still in contention for the Stanley Cup.

Article written by Alex Sheesley of Magruder High School

Photo courtesy of Creative Commons

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