Washington Capitals: Five Bold Predictions For 2015-2016
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The Washington Capitals Will Win The Stanley Cup
The Washington Capitals are one of the oldest franchises to never win the Stanley Cup. That changes this season when the Caps hoist the Stanley Cup in June. It will be a glorious sight watching Alex Ovechkin hoist the Stanley Cup and pass it off to his buddy Nicklas Backstrom.
SEE ALSO: Five Reasons Why The Caps Will Win The Stanley Cup
The Capitals came extremely close to advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals last season. The Caps realized that their captain is getting old (Ovechkin is 30). Owner Ted Leonsis realized that his team’s Stanley Cup window was closing. He opened it all the way with impressive offseason acquisitions. The Caps needed a makeover. With Oshie and Williams, the Caps have the best chance of winning the Cup that they’ve had in years.
Of course, they’ll need some luck. But who doesn’t get at least some luck along the way? The Washington Capitals will need to stay healthy. Any injury to Holtby or their blue line could prove to be fatal to their Stanley Cup hopes. They’ll need pucks to go their way. With an improved offense, they’ll create more scoring chances so that there will be more chances for pucks to go their way. They’ll need to conquer their playoff demons. Justin Williams could serve as the exorcist.
The Caps have a history of choking in the playoffs. That’s undeniable. None of that matters at all to this year’s team. The failures of Pete Peeters, Esa Tikkanen, and so many others before this year are completely irrelevant to this year’s team. Should they lose in the playoffs, it will be because they weren’t good enough. It sure as heck won’t be because some guy missed an empty net shot in 1998. At one point, the Boston Red Sox were considered the champions of chokers. The 2004 team wrote their own destiny. The 2015 Caps will do the same.
Will they face tough competition? Absolutely. They’ll likely have to get past the Tampa Bay Lightning at some point. They’ll have to overcome a tough and competitive Metropolitan Division to even make the playoffs. Let’s be honest with ourselves, the Caps will have to beat the Rangers in the playoffs because the Caps and Rangers are destined to battle each other for all eternity.
It will not matter because the Washington Capitals will win the Stanley Cup.
What do you think? Give me some of your bold predictions in the comments!
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