Going into this season, there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Washington Capitals.
For starters, the team already had several players that would be out with injuries for a while. Two of the team’s best players, Nicklas Backstrom and Tim Wilson, were going to miss a lot of time, which means that many wondered how the club’s offense was going to be to start the season.
Secondly, the team was going into this season with a new netminding tandem. Gone were goaltenders Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek, and in were 2022 Stanley Cup champions Darcy Kuemper and Charlie Lindgren.
Do not look now, but the Capitals have surprised many by playing outstanding hockey to this point. As of this writing (Friday, December 30), the Capitals are third in an extremely tight Metropolitan Division with 45 points, thanks to a 20-13-5 record.
The team’s point total is just one behind the second-place New Jersey Devils and seven behind the division-leading Carolina Hurricanes. Given the injuries and uncertainty heading into this year, that is pretty darn good.
There are several reasons why the team is having success this season. They are being led by their captain and future Hall of Famer, Alex Ovechkin. Ovechkin, 37, leads the team with 42 points on 23 goals and 19 assists while also leading the team with seven power play goals, 15 power play points, and 164 shots on goal.
The Capitals are also getting solid offensive contributions from the likes of Evgeny Kuznetsov (six goals and 24 assists for 30 points), Dylan Strome (seven goals and 20 assists for 27 points), Conor Sheary (11 goals and 13 assists for 24 points), and the currently injured defenseman John Carlson (eight goals and 13 assists for 21 points). Sonny Milano has also been a nice surprise, picking up 16 points (five goals and 11 assists) in 25 games.
Defensively, the Capitals have been pretty good. They are 13th in the league in goals allowed despite giving up over 30 shots per game.
A lot of the team’s success when it comes to keeping the puck out of the net has been due to the strong play of both of their netminders. Kuemper is 10-9-0-3 with a 2.47 goals-against average, a .920 save percentage, and three shutouts.
Lindgren’s fine play between the pipes has been somewhat of a surprise. Not known for getting into a lot of games, he has already eclipsed the most amount of games he has played in a season (14) by getting into 17 this year and being 10-4-0-2 with a 2.60 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage.
In order for the Capitals to keep up with the likes of the Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils while fending off the Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Islanders, and New York Rangers, the team needs to get and stay healthy for the rest of the season. That would help the team’s chances of getting into the Stanley Cup playoffs for the ninth straight season.
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