Washington Capitals Playoffs: Top 5 reasons they will win the Stanley Cup
#3 Offensive firepower
Yes the Panthers have the edge when it comes to offense. And hats off to them. They led the league in goals scored with 337, 25 goals ahead of the second place Toronto Maple Leafs. The Caps were a respectable 10th in the league despite their challenges that they faced this season with 270 goals scored.
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It is encouraging seeing Alex Ovechkin not only return to practice but take rushes in his rightful spot on the top line. He told the media after practice that he feels good and that he could have played the final three games of the regular season if they were postseason games. They weren’t and with an upper body injury, the Caps wanted to be cautious.
“We’ll see”, Ovechkin said when asked if he would play in Tuesday night’s Game 1.
The Caps power play was inconsistent but played better as the team got hotter. They finished 23rd in the league with a success rate of 18.8 percent. Believe it or not, the Panthers aren’t even first in the league in power play success. They’re fifth at 24.4 percent.
May we interest you in some postseason hype?#ALLCAPS | @Ticketmaster pic.twitter.com/PTJTSIZ5Pw
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) May 1, 2022
This could very well be a toss up if the Caps match the Panthers speed for speed.