3 players who were the biggest surprises on Capitals this season

The Washington Capitals season is over and it's time to assess things on how it all went down. Lots of folks didn't expect them to make the playoffs and it was thanks to these three unlikely heroes that willed them to it.

Dylan Strome

Let's start with Dylan Strome who isn't too much of a suprise but his point production for a team that was -37 in goal differential was vital. Strome led the Capitals in points this season and became the first player other than Alex Ovechkin to finish an 82 game season as Washington's points leader since Nicklas Backstrom in 2016-17.

Strome set career highs in games played with 81 along with a career high 23 goals, 42 assists, and 65 points in his first season with the Caps. In year two he surpassed all three categores. He ranks first on the Caps in games played with 163 along with 82 assists since the start of the 2022-23 season.

This year Strome ranked second on the Capitals in goals with 27 and assists with 40. He was one of two Caps to appear in all 82 of the team's games this season. After recording 26 points with 15 goals and 11 assists in his first 41 games of the season, Strome was a point per game player in the second half with 41 points in 41 games to help will the Caps back to the playoffs even though it was short lived.