Washington Capitals: Winning Is The Only Thing That Matters
BOSTON, MA - JANUARY 05: Evgeny Kuznetsov #92 of the Washington Capitals, second from right, celebrates with T.J. Oshie #77, Alex Ovechkin #8 and Nicklas Backstrom #19 after scoring a goal against the Boston Bruins during the second period at TD Garden on January 5, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
The Washington Capitals are one of the best teams n the NHL this early in the 2019-20 season. But what else was to be expected? After finishing last season 48-26, the Capitals were not able to duplicate the success from the 2017-18 season which resulted in winning the Stanley Cup. Their first-round playoff exit left a bitter taste in their mouth which has been their driving force for this season.
Heading into their game tonight against the Calgary Flames, the Caps sit atop the Divison with 23 points and a 10-2-3 record. While that’s great news, the only things that matters for the players are the playoffs and the Stanley Cup. Once success is tasted, it leaves a lasting effect on one’s persona.
The Caps are one of the top-scoring teams in the league and have ridden a nice month of October to bolt atop the standings. But can they continue their success? Last season, it was pretty much the same. They ended the season with an almost identical record as their Cup-winning season but still couldn’t make it out of the first round. That brought on whispers of a fluke year. But was it? No. It’s just the way it was.
Alex Ovechkin (19 points) is still abusing defenses along with John Carlson (23 points). And in front of the net is Braden Holtby (6-1). As a team, the Caps have seven players with 10+ points on the year already. This could be a team of destiny, again but it’s just too early on to see. To not fall victim to what happened last season, the individual accolades must go out the window.
Team success is all that matters in sports. A single-player can take over for a few games but it takes a team to win when it matters most. This is the hard lesson the Washingon Capitals had to learn last season. There’s no way a team with playoff experience can fall victim to the same mistakes for a second straight season.
Mark has been covering Sports and Entertainment for the past six years. His work has been featured on Bleacher Report, ESPN, Fox Sports, Teen Vogue, and many other websites.
