5 things to be grateful for as a Capitals fan
The Washington Capitals are gearing up for a Thanksgiving Eve matchup with the Buffalo Sabres. After a day off Sunday, they had practice yesterday and today. Tuesday’s practice was attended by DMV native and tennis star Francis Tiafoe.
Major tournament on ice when? pic.twitter.com/u439VvbtRX
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) November 21, 2023
Real quickly before we get into the five things we’re grateful for as a Capitals fan, let’s get into the practice news. Alex Ovechkin left practice but don’t freak out because it was only for a short time and then he came back onto the ice. Evgeny Kuznetsov was a full go in practice after missing the last game due to an illness. He should be good to go tomorrow.
Now let’s break down the five things we’re grateful for:
#5 Nicklas Backstrom
We’ll start this off with an appreciation of Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom. He’s done a lot for the organization but his unfortunate hip injury caught up to him as he’s stepped away from the game. This season may have possibly been the last time we’ll see him on the ice.
If this is truly the end, Backstrom leaves behind a legacy. With 271 goals, 762 assists, and 1,033 points in 1,105 career games, Backstrom is second in the franchise in games played and points as well as the all time assists leader.
#4 That the Caps are the best team in DC
Entering the fall and the upcoming NHL season, there were still questions on who the best team in D.C. currently is. DC United is in a full on rebuild and has problems with their front office that they hope to correct with their recent hirings. But parting ways with Wayne Rooney is never a good look.
The Wizards have embraced a full on rebuild for the first time in what feels like forever. But that is just that: a rebuild. Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole are fun players to watch but Michael Winger and Will Dawkins aren’t playing around and have a long term plan ahead of them. It’s trust the process time for the local NBA franchise.
The Nationals took some big steps forward this past season in the rebuild. But we won’t know how close they truly are until the spring of 2024 and that still feels like a long time away. Don’t tell the Caps that, because they need points now so they can keep playing deep into April and possibly May.
This is where things get interesting. The Commanders formally known as the Redskins, finally have a new owner. Having Josh Harris replace Dan Snyder is a Super Bowl victory in itself. But there are still Snyder holdovers and the Commanders have not been good this season. So there’s still a lot of fixing to do there from the team itself to the FedEx Field showers.
And we just bored you to death about the other teams which brings us back to the Capitals. For a while they were in sports purgatory. But if they keep their hot streak going, you’re talking about a possible return to the playoffs. While the sellout streak ended in the second game of the season, Caps games are still worth the money to spend when it comes to watching DC Sports. And the Caps being good brings us to our next point…
#3 That the Caps are third in the Metropolitan Division
If someone told me or you just before the season started that the Capitals would be sitting at third place in the Metropolitan Division the day before their Thanksgiving Eve, all of us would be grateful for it. That’s exactly what’s happened. They were in second place but the Philadelphia Flyers just won their fifth in a row to be one point ahead of the Caps.
The Caps sit five points behind the first place New York Rangers where their ex coach Peter Laviolette is now the bench boss in New York. All it takes is the Caps to remain hot and the Rangers to start getting cold and they could leapfrog them.
The Capitals have won four games in a row and have been playing much better. Their only area that needs improvement at this point is the power play which is dead last in the league.
But the important thing is that the Caps are scoring goals, the defense has looked better and Charlie Lindgren has been the hot hand at goal. Darcy Kuemper needs to play better when he’s healthy and he knows it. But if Kuemper gets better and the power play improves, this Caps team will be dangerous.
#2 Youth on the team
If there’s one thing Caps fans have begged for this past offseason, it was to get younger and quicker. While they didn’t really hit a home run in a trade or free agency, they looked in house and made a few small moves in order for that to happen and it’s paid dividends.
Per Capitals PR, Caps skaters aged 27 and younger have accounted for 56.8 percent of the team’s goals and 50.1 percent of the team’s points this season. Through the first 15 games of 2022 23 aka last season, skaters aged 27 and younger accounted for 17.1 percent of the goals and 17.4 percent of the points.
The Caps opening night roster consisted of seven players aged 25 years old or younger. The last time they had that many players 25 years of age or younger was the 2017 18 season and we all know how that season ended.
About that stat two paragraphs ago, it wasn’t that the players aged 27 or younger were bad last year. It was more of the fact that they were barley even on the ice in the first place. Now they are thanks to a new bench boss that is willing to try some things new with players both young and old. It’s all progress and it’s helped the Caps get hot.
#1 Alex Ovechkin
We couldn’t be more grateful to have Alex Ovechkin on our team but we certainly are. After a slow start to the season, the great eight is beginning to heat up. With five goals on the season there’s still more work to be done as he has 827 on his career to put him 67 goals behind Wayne Gretzky for number one in goals scored in NHL history.
Ovi has three goals in his last three games. That included a two goal performance in their road win over the New York Islanders as well as one goal on Saturday in their win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. He also has four points in four games with an assist in their win over the New Jersey Devils on Friday Nov. 10.
“It’s still not perfect yet,” Ovechkin told the media after Saturday’s game.
For further elaboration:
“I think last couple games, I think our line have pretty good chances. I think overall, if you take power play, moments 5-on-5… I think we start getting better.”
Related Story. 3 Capitals-inspired Thanksgiving dishes. light
Ovechkin enters Wednesday night’s game just three points away from 1,500 on his career. So this week we have a chance to see another Ovechkin milestone as he continues to chase towards the biggest milestone in the NHL.