With just over a month left in the season, the Washington Capitals are first in the metropolitan division, and second overall in goals scored, it looks like this could be the Caps’ season. Currently first in the metropolitan division at 39-12-7, the Capitals are three wins ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins at 36-14-8. The recent six-game win streak has brought the Caps past the Penguins and into first place with ample potential in the playoffs.
The team started off strong this season with an 8-3 record and had remained fairly consistent. The Capitals have been led by Nicklas Backstrom at center with 60 points on the season, and Alex Ovechkin at left wing with 26 goals. The Capitals’ defense has also been especially strong this season. Braden Holtby at goalie has shown immense skill allowing only 2.02 goals per game. Holtby won the Vezina trophy last year for the best goalie in the league tying the record for the most amount of wins by a goalie in NHL history at 48 wins. This year he might be having a better year with lower goals per game and four more shutouts than he did last year
The Capitals are currently ranked at number one in the NHL on ESPN’s power rankings, and it does not look as though that will be changing anytime soon. ESPN Senior Writer Pierre LeBrun believes that the Caps are likely to continue at the pace that they have been going all season, referring to them as “The NHL’s one true powerhouse team.”
This year every team is having a mandatory week off with no games played. The caps are just coming off their by week and have lost their first two games against the Rangers and Canadiens.
Heading into the rest of February, the Capitals are looking at games against the Flyers, Oilers, and Predators. The Capitals have only played the Rangers one time this season, a loss in October. The Caps are 1-1 against the Flyers, 0-1 against the Oilers, and they have not yet played the Predators.
Looking past this week and into the rest of the season, the Caps are looking to remain at first in their division as well as first in the power rankings and finish the season strong.
IMAGE COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
