Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
NHL Power Rankings #4: Washington Capitals
The Capitals were one of the best teams in the NHL last season. They were a disallowed goal in game five of the second round away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals. Like the Penguins, the Capitals took a good long look in the mirror and realized that their Stanley Cup window was closing. They made two huge off-season moves to open it as high as they could.
They signed three-time Stanley Cup champion forward Justin Williams. Williams is noted for his performances in games seven. The Capitals are known for failing in games seven. They’re a perfect match. Williams should help the young Caps grow and provide solid scoring numbers.
Perhaps their biggest move was trading for forward T.J. Oshie. Oshie is an extremely talented forward who should play alongside Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. The Capitals will rely heavily on young forwards Evgeny Kuznetsov, Marcus Johansson, and Andre Burakovsky to continue to improve and provide secondary scoring.
The biggest reason that the Caps will do well in 2015? Elite goalie Braden Holtby. He finally showed Caps fans that he is a franchise goaltender by having one of the most successful seasons ever by a Capitals goalie.
When I look at the Capitals, I don’t see any glaring weaknesses. Sure, their bottom six forwards aren’t ideal. But that’s a relatively easy problem to fix compared to problems on the first two forward lines or defensive pairings.
Next: #3