Breaking down the easiest path to glory for the Capitals
The Washington Capitals have a couple of tweaks they need to make if they want to make a deep run at a Stanley Cup in 2022. The biggest tweak has to be the power play which despite last night’s win over the Nashville Predators was still atrocious.
How bad was it? Like 0 for 6 bad.
Thankfully the Caps were able to get some clutch goals in the third period after surrendering a 3-0 lead. It was the second straight game that saw the Caps blow a lead as they blew a 2-0 lead to the Los Angeles Kings in their final game before the pause only to fall 3-2.
So fix the power play and have a killer instinct. That’s what will help the Caps succeed next year. As they say every year, the Stanley Cup is the hardest trophy to win in sports. So let’s look at the heavyweights across the NHL’s Eastern Conference that could be standing in the Caps way.
As we learned the hard way the last three years, you don’t really want to wish for a particular playoff matchup. Doing so and you’ll regret it down the line. The Caps 45 points is just one point behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the top spot in the NHL.
In order to be the best you have to beat the best and right now that best team is the Lightning. Not just because they’re top dog in the NHL right now. They’re also coming off back to back Stanley Cup wins. So they know how to do it.
The Caps luckily know how to do it too. But they must draw back from that 2018 and reflect on the skills they need. Like the current team there was a mix of youth and veterans on that Cup winning team. The difference is that this year we feel like every other Caps player is either a rookie or making their NHL debut.
Another team to watch out for and this comes from within the Metropolitan Division is the Carolina Hurricanes. How sweet would it be to get payback from 2019? The New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins are just behind them.
Over on the Atlantic Division side you got a 3 headed monster with the Bolts, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Florida Panthers. Look out for the Panthers who are ready to take the next step. As for the Maple Leafs, they’re just hungry to end a playoff dry spell.
light. More. Reinforcements Arrive as Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, T.J. Oshie and Others Return
Either way 2022 should make for an exciting year of hockey. It will be a fight to the finish but the question is are the Caps well equipped for it?