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Washington Capitals: Three Keys to Major Success

By David Trice

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 03: Alex Ovechkin #8, Nicklas Backstrom #19, and Brooks Orpik #44 of the Washington Capitals watch the 2018 Stanley Cup Championship banner rise to the rafters before playing against the Boston Bruins at Capital One Arena on October 3, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 03: Alex Ovechkin #8, Nicklas Backstrom #19, and Brooks Orpik #44 of the Washington Capitals watch the 2018 Stanley Cup Championship banner rise to the rafters before playing against the Boston Bruins at Capital One Arena on October 3, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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washington capitals
LAS VEGAS, NV – JUNE 07: Washington Capitals Left Wing Alex Ovechkin (8) hoists the Stanley Cup as he exits the arena after defeating the Golden Knights 4-3 during game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Washington Capitals and the Las Vegas Golden Knights on June 07, 2018 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. (Photo by Chris Williams/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

The Washington Capitals are 15 months removed from the ultimate success in winning the Stanley Cup. They followed up with an early exit in the 2019 playoffs.

How do the Washington Capitals reach that success level again? What three key areas would mean the 2019-2020 season was a major success?

To consider the season a success all teams expect nothing less than hoisting the Stanley Cup as the sign of a successful season. Reality though is that only one team will succeed in this goal, so by not winning the cup would a team consider the outcome to be unsuccessful altogether?

Each team has facets of the game which could undergo some marked improvement, and in those areas a team could have success without making it to the end as champions. As the process goes each team will take stock of where best to improve from the previous season to increase their chances of a title.

washington capitals
LAS VEGAS, NV – JUNE 07: (l-r) Nicklas Backstrom #19 and Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals skate in celebration after their team defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 in Game Five of the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Final at the T-Mobile Arena on June 7, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

For the Washington Capitals, there were a number of obvious areas which could stand improvement that would move them closer to reclaiming the cup. Those areas include improved secondary scoring, better team defense, more reliable zone entry on power plays (Please kill the slingshot already!), and better faceoff win percentage.

With the limited cap space to operate and make any additions, the Capitals chose to improve an area which was affordable and directed to one of these areas of improvement. The team defense was an obvious area the team knew needed improvement by the additions of Radko Gudas, Brendan Leipsic, Garnet Hathaway, and Richard Panik.

As a byproduct the secondary scoring need has been laid on some of these additions as well as a few holdovers who would be asked to produce in this area unlike in the past.  From the moves the team has made this offseason, below are the three key areas which will need to improve to consider this season a major success.

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