Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Washington Capitals Must Beat Bad Teams
The Washington Capitals were fairly efficient at this during the 2014-15 season. They faced 14 non-playoff teams. Of those 14 non-playoff teams, they had a point percentage of 50% of lower against just five of them (the Kings, Coyotes, Flyers, Stars and Oilers). The Capitals got 55 out of 84 possible points against them, which is roughly a 64.5% point percentage. Over the course of a full season, that’s 106 points. The Washington Capitals were good at beating teams that they were supposed to beat in 2014-15. They’ll have to repeat that performance in 2015-16.
Puck Prose
The Metropolitan Division has eight teams in it. Of those eight, only New Jersey and Carolina are clearly not contenders. Philadelphia could be a contender if things go right for them. Other than that, the other five teams (including the Caps) all figure to be contenders in 2015. The Penguins, Islanders, and Blue Jackets have all improved, whether that be by free agency, trades or by simply maturing. Each game against those teams is going to matter for the Capitals, but I’d argue that their games against easier teams matter more because beating them is an absolute MUST. If the Caps beat the teams who they should beat, that gives them a bit of a cushion in case they have trouble against one of those teams.
The Capitals aren’t going to have many cupcake games in 2015. When they get them, the Caps must not take them lightly and must capitalize by getting two points as often as possible.
Next: Consistency