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Washington Capitals: Three On Three Metropolitan Division Power Rankings

By Dave Stevenson |
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Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Washington Capitals are built around speed for the first time since the days of Bruce Boudreau. With the changes coming to overtime this season, the Washington Capitals could trot out some impressive three on three combinations. Factor in their elite goaltender Braden Holtby and the Washington Capitals could easily afford to go with three forwards instead of going with the more traditional two forwards and one defenseman. 

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MUST READ: Power Ranking The Metropolitan Division

The rest of the Metropolitan Division will be able to say the same thing, for the most part. With no fewer than five teams with great forward depth and some of the best goaltenders in the NHL, Metropolitan Division teams will likely be more aggressive during three on three overtime.

Seeing as how quite a few of the Metropolitan Division teams (including the Washington Capitals) will depend on overtime, it’s important to know who the best lineups are in the division. While creating this power ranking, I kept several things in mind.

  1. Chemistry. For a trio to succeed, they must have good chemistry together.
  2. Speed. The best trios must be fast and quick to best utilize the extra room that having just six skaters on the ice will inevitably create.
  3. Overall game. Because what if the trio doesn’t score?
  4. Goaltending. Can the team’s goaltender negate the above?

Without further ado, here’s how the Washington Capitals and the rest of the Metropolitan Division rank as far as their overtime lineups.

Next: #8: Jersey Boys

#8: New Jersey Devils

Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

I’ll be honest. I was able to create a pretty good trio for every Metropolitan Division team except for one. That one? The Devils. Granted, I could create two nice ones. But compared to the rest of the Metropolitan Division, the Devils might have the two weakest ones. That’s largely because the Devils don’t have skilled forwards like the Washington Capitals, Penguins, Flyers, Blue Jackets or Islanders.

CONSERVATIVE LINEUP (Two forwards, one defenseman)

  1. Adam Henrique – Mike Cammalleri – Adam Larsson
  2. Jacob Josefson – Kyle Palmieri – Damon Severson

Not bad, but compared to the rest of the Metropolitan Division, not that good either. The Devils don’t have the elite talent that teams like the Washington Capitals have, and it really shows here. That said, I think that the Josefson trio could do some damage. Three young guns skating together. In the future, that could be a nice trio. But now? It’s only got potential.

ALL-IN LINEUP (Three forwards)

  1. Josefson – Henrique – Cammaleri
  2. Palmieri- Patrik Elias – Severson

OVERALL OUTLOOK

The Devils stink in shootouts and they’ll be approximately as bad during three on three overtime.

Next: #7: Carolina Hurricanes

#7: Carolina Hurricanes

Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

The Hurricanes might not look it, but they could have some nice trios out there this season in overtime. They don’t quite have the skilled forwards of the other teams in the Metropolitan Division, but if their best guys can stay healthy, they could have success in overtime this season.

CONSERVATIVE LINEUP

  1. Eric Staal – Jordan Staal – Justin Faulk
  2. Jeff Skinner – Elias Lindholm – James Wisniewski

If the Staals are healthy, they could form a dynamic duo. Throw 2014 NHL All-Star Faulk into the equation and that could be a nice trio. Skinner has been haunted by injuries and inconsistency as of late, but when he’s on his game, there aren’t too many guys better than him. Lindholm quietly had a really nice season for the Canes last season. I’m a fan of Wisniewski. Two very solid trios here.

ALL-IN LINEUP

  1. E. Staal – J. Staal – Skinner
  2. Victor Rask – Lindholm – Nathan Gerbe

Once again, health is a huge concern, but that first trio is really good if they’re all healthy. The second line could be a lot of fun. Gerbe could certainly be a force with more space to work with.

OVERALL OUTLOOK

The Hurricanes will be better than people think during three on three overtime this year. It’s a testament to how good the rest of the division is that they are second to last.

Next: #6: Flyers

#6: Philadelphia Flyers

Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The Flyers and the Blue Jackets are really close to each other in this power ranking. It pretty much came down to a coin flip. I think the addition of Brandon Saad puts Columbus over Philly by the slightest of margins. That said, the Flyers could trot out arguably the most efficient trio out there no matter what they want to do.

CONSERVATIVE LINEUP

  1. Jakub Voracek – Claude Giroux – Mark Streit
  2. Wayne Simmonds – Vincent Lecavalier – Michael Del Zotto

That first trio is about as good as any. Short of the Penguins and the Washington Capitals, arguably nobody else can trot out a trio like that. The best trios of the Pens and Washington Capitals aren’t much better than the Flyers and one could make the case that they might be the deadliest of the “conservative” trios with tons of space to work with.

Yes, Lacavalier is listed. I think that the Flyers have to give him a chance. He’s way too talented to have a repeat of last year. If he’s still awful this year, they do have Brayden Schenn to back him up.

ALL-IN LINEUP

  1. Voracek – Giroux – Simmonds
  2. Schenn – Lacavalier – Sean Couturier

The first trio has wrecked havoc during power plays for the past two seasons. So why not stay with what is clearly working? The second one could be something, but Couturier clearly isn’t the scoring threat that the Flyers really need for that trio.

OVERALL OUTLOOK

Pretty darn good. Again, it’s telling how good the Metropolitan Division is that the Flyers are sixth.

Next: #5: Columbus

#5: Columbus Blue Jackets

Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

The Columbus Blue Jackets will be led this season by an impressive forward group. Combine that with Sergei Bobrovsky, and that might just be enough to get them back in the playoffs.

CONSERVATIVE LINEUP

  1. Nick Foligno – Ryan Johansen – Jack Johnson
  2. Brandon Saad – Brandon Dubinsky – David Savard

The blue liners aren’t that impressive, but I think the forward group makes up for it.

ALL-IN LINEUP

  1. Foligno – Johansen – Saad
  2. Jenner – Dubinsky – Atkinson

Because they have Bobrovsky, they can probably afford to go with their all three forward lineups more often than other teams. They have two pretty darn good lines here.

Next: #4: New York Islanders

#4: New York Islanders

Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Islanders will have an excellent group of forwards and defenseman to choose from come overtime this season. They will be led by John Tavares and Johnny Boychuk

CONSERVATIVE LINEUP

  1. Nikolai Kulemin – Tavares – Boychuk
  2. Anders Lee – Brock Nelson – Nick Leddy

ALL-IN LINEUP

  1. Kulemin- Tavares – Kyle Okposo
  2. Lee – Nelson – Ryan Strome

Next: #3: New York Rangers

#3: New York Rangers

Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

CONSERVATIVE LINEUP

  1. Rick Nash – Derek Stepan – Ryan McDonagh
  2. Mats Zuccarello – Derick Brassard – Keith Yandle

The Nash trio could be really really good.

ALL-IN LINEUP

  1. Nash – Stepan – Zuccarello
  2. Chris Kreider – Brassard – Kevin Hayes

Next: #2: Washington Capitals

#2: Washington Capitals

Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The Washington Capitals will be able to have some great trios for three on three overtime thanks to their well balanced roster. The Washington Capitals will have a plethora of options available.

CONSERVATIVE LINEUP

  1. Alex Ovechkin – Nicklas Backstrom – John Carlson
  2. T.J. Oshie – Evgeny Kuznetsov – Nate Schmidt or Matt Niskanen

The Washington Capitals could go with either Schmidt or Niskanen. The Washington Capitals could choose to use Schmidt’s extremely impressive skating to try to create mismatches. If they choose not to, well they still have Niskanen.

ALL-IN LINEUP

  1. Ovechkin – Backstrom – Andre Burakovsky
  2. Oshie – Kuznetsov – Marcus Johansson

In my opinion, the Washington Capitals have the second best trios in the Metropolitan Division thanks to their depth. Plus the Penguins sort of fall apart if Letang gets injured. That’s a very realistic possibility considering his concussions. Burakovsky had great chemistry with Ovi and Backstrom last year.

Next: #1: Washington Capitals

#1: Pittsburgh Penguins

Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

CONSERVATIVE LINEUP

  1. Patric Hornqvist – Sidney Crosby – Kris Letang
  2. Phil Kessel – Evgeni Malkin – Olli Maatta

Two of the best duos in the division. That’s what happens when you have Crosby and Malkin. That said, I’m not sure how Maatta would do with more ice.

ALL-IN LINEUP

  1. Kessel – Crosby – Malkin

I mean, when you have those three guys, why let anyone else skate if you’re going all-in? This is the best three forward trio in the NHL, in my opinion.

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