Washington Capitals: Upcoming milestones

BUFFALO, NY - FEBRUARY 19: Nicklas Backstrom #19 and Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals chat on the bench during an NHL game against the Buffalo Sabres on February 19, 2018 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NY - FEBRUARY 19: Nicklas Backstrom #19 and Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals chat on the bench during an NHL game against the Buffalo Sabres on February 19, 2018 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images)
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WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 05: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals stands with Brooks Orpik #44, his wife Nastya Ovechkina, Capitals president Dick Patrick, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, and Nicklas Backstrom #19 during a pre-game ceremony honoring Ovechkin for playing in his 1,000th NHL game on April 1 against the Pittsburgh Penguins before a game against the Nashville Predators at Capital One Arena on April 5, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 05: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals stands with Brooks Orpik #44, his wife Nastya Ovechkina, Capitals president Dick Patrick, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, and Nicklas Backstrom #19 during a pre-game ceremony honoring Ovechkin for playing in his 1,000th NHL game on April 1 against the Pittsburgh Penguins before a game against the Nashville Predators at Capital One Arena on April 5, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)

There are a lot of milestones to keep an eye on when following the Washington Capitals in 2019-20.

Fans love to celebrate accomplishments and milestones in sports. Whether that’s winning an early regular season game or winning the championship. For whatever reason it makes us feel good. Almost as if we’ve accomplished something ourselves.

It’s a lot of fun to watch someone we care about do something special. While we might not know these athletes personally it’s still something to watch a player debut, then have success, either as a team or individually.

While awards and championships take most of the focus there’s one thing that tends to go unnoticed until that accomplishment is staring us in the face, a milestone. In hockey, hitting a certain amount of goals or points doesn’t really get talked about unless you’re talking about a player who is in the really special territory. Like an Alex Ovechkin or a Joe Thornton who are high on all time lists and will continue to climb these lists.

WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 07: Nicklas Backstrom #19 of the Washington Capitals poses with fiancé Liza Berg and Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis after receiving awards for his 600th assist prior to playing against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Capital One Arena on November 7, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 07: Nicklas Backstrom #19 of the Washington Capitals poses with fiancé Liza Berg and Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis after receiving awards for his 600th assist prior to playing against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Capital One Arena on November 7, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images)

On every team there will be a few players who are within striking distance of some kind of milestone. Whether that’s a very good or great young player ready to hit one hundred career goals or points, or a veteran who will hit the one thousand games played mark.

BUFFALO, NY – DECEMBER 09: Jakub Vrana #13 of the Washington Capitals holds the puck from his first career NHL goal scored against the Buffalo Sabres at the KeyBank Center on December 9, 2016 in Buffalo, New York. Washington won, 4-1. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NY – DECEMBER 09: Jakub Vrana #13 of the Washington Capitals holds the puck from his first career NHL goal scored against the Buffalo Sabres at the KeyBank Center on December 9, 2016 in Buffalo, New York. Washington won, 4-1. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Capitals are no different. There are milestones creeping up on us and we’re going to show you these numbers so you know going into the season who has something to look forward to.