Washington Capitals: Predicting the Top Five Goal Scorers for 2021-2022

#3 Anthony Mantha

Anthony Mantha, dubbed Anthony Manthany by some, will have a career-year for the good guys in red. After being expected to carry the load on a very bad Detroit Red Wings team, Mantha will fly under the radar in DC. Being a part of a talented team and not being expected to be “the guy” will allow Mantha to thrive.

Mantha and Tom Wilson will battle it out for the number three spot for goals scored but the edge here goes to Mantha, simply due to the fact that he will be able to stay out of the box and will be utilized in more offensive-friendly situations than Wilson. Put Mantha down for 27-30 goals in the 2021-2022 season.

While the data is limited, Mantha was deployed in the offensive zone 76.6 percent of the time in his 14 games with the Caps under Peter Laviolette. Wilson, on the other hand, saw 60.4 percent of his zone starts in the offensive zone, which is far above a career average of only 48.2 percent for the power forward.

With that said, different coaches will often deploy players differently, so don’t expect Wilson to be deployed in the defensive-zone more than half of the time. But without a doubt, expect Mantha to be deployed more heavily in the offensive-zone than Wilson in the upcoming year. That will lead to more goals for the 6-foot-5 winger.