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Washington Capitals: Are They Meeting Our Expectations So Far?

By James Hoover

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 20: The Washington Capitals celebrate a goal in the third period of their game against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on November 20, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 20: The Washington Capitals celebrate a goal in the third period of their game against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on November 20, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) /
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Alex Ovechkin

washington capitals
BOSTON, MA – JANUARY 10: Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) reacts to his goal during a game between the Boston Bruins and the Washington Capitals on January 10, 2019, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

This might be the easiest question to answer, ever. Alex is well.. Alex. The man is a beast. Everywhere in the league people just want to say his game has to decline. Not yet. On the contrary, his game continues to mature as he provides balanced leadership, effort and scoring. This team has always gone the way he goes. When his foot is on the gas pedal, the team just goes.

The difference, to me, is that over the last several years he has realized that he has the help and depth on the team so that he does not have to do it all. This has allowed him to play a more metered game. He can hit when he needs to, not all the time. He can be a decoy and others will score. I think its going to go a long way to help Alex stay at Alex levels for a while longer. And for now, that means being on track for another 50ish goal season.

Status: Expectations met so far.

Evgeny Kuznetsov

washington capitals
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 15: Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov (92) stickhandles during the Montreal Canadiens vs. Washington Capitals game November 15, 2019 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.. (Photo by Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Evgeny had one of the more notable off-seasons, albeit for the wrong reasons. Coming off an ordinary season he had some issues that resulted in embarrassment and suspensions. Truly not the best way to start a season.

But the measure of anyone is how you react to a bad situation. I have to admit that I am impressed by his response. He could have become sullen and folded it up. But so far he hasn’t. He still needs to be a bit more consistent, but he is playing much more like the 2017-18 Kuzy than last years version. His feet are moving, he is attacking more aggressively and its showing up on the score sheet.

Status: Expectations possibly exceeded.

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