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Washington Capitals Didn’t Choke This Time Around

By Bradley Davis

May 10, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) and Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) shake hands after game six of the second round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the CONSOL Energy Center. The Pens won 4-3 in overtime to win the series 4 games to 2. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
May 10, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) and Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) shake hands after game six of the second round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the CONSOL Energy Center. The Pens won 4-3 in overtime to win the series 4 games to 2. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Washington Capitals fell in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs once again, but this time around, it wasn’t a choke job.

The Washington Capitals and their fans were once again subjected to a round two defeat in the postseason. What made it worse was the fact that most people really believed that this year was different, and that this year a team that had constantly found a way to fail when it counted finally had “it.”

It might be an unpopular opinion among a fan base that has gone through this year after year, to the point where many doubt that their team will ever hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup, but this year was different. The Washington Capitals went down, but they went down swinging.

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Many will point to yet another Presidents’ Trophy to justify what people will call a collapse. In reality, the situation couldn’t have been more different.

The Washington Capitals also had the misfortune of running into quite possibly the best team in the league after their explosive second half of the season. The Pittsburgh Penguins rallied from the outside of the playoff picture to the second place spot in the Metropolitan Division in a matter of months, The newer format of the NHL postseason did not do the Capitals any favors either. Quite frankly, the match up between these two teams was worthy of nothing short of a conference finals showdown.

With that said, I believe that the only reason the Caps went down in the second round is because of who they faced. I would have to hear some really good arguments from some very knowledgeable people to sway my belief that the Capitals were one of maybe two teams in the entire league that can beat the Penguins in a seven game series at this point.

Most of the team’s best players showed up big time in these playoffs, and any individual that pushes the narrative that this loss is in any way on Alexander Ovechkin’s shoulders has absolutely no idea what they are talking about.

Ovechkin scored five goals and posted a point-per-game over two series’, and John Carlson continued his ascent into the conversation of the NHL’s elite defensemen by posting the same stat line as his captain.

Nicklas Backstrom only had two goals, but he did contribute 11 points over 12 games in the playoffs. While Evgeny Kuznetsov’s statistics aren’t pretty, he actually played pretty damn well in the postseason.

While the series eventually came down to bottom-six scoring, something that the Caps basically received none of, each and every game was extremely closely contested. The only game that wasn’t separated by one goal in the end was Washington’s 3-1 game five victory.

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Just when Caps’ Twitter was exploding about the 3-0 deficit being faced in an elimination game, their team displayed their incredible comeback ability just one more time. This was not a case of the team folding or not wanting it enough. They had shocked the home crowd in Pittsburgh.

In the end, it completely gassed the team. After the Penguins eliminated the Washington Capitals minutes into the overtime period, it would be unfair to say that the team did not leave everything out on the ice. What they did this year was anything but a choke job.

While it is undoubtedly a disappointing way to end such a promising season, most of the same players will be back next year, many of them young players who will continue to grow.

There will always be the “what if’s” about this season, but if we’ve learned anything about this team and their general manager, Brian MacLellan, it is that he won’t hesitate to make changes regarding what went wrong in the end.

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