The Washington Capitals lost in the first round of the playoffs for the 5th time in the last 6 years. They haven’t been able to score many goals and also have a goalie who played in the first playoff series of his career.
On April 28th, the Capitals officially got eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Capitals snuck into the wildcard spot of the playoffs by just one game, being able to win the last game of the regular season versus the Philadelphia Flyers. While the Flyers already had lost the opportunity to make the playoffs, the Capitals needed to win to get in, and they did.
While the Capitals were able to make it into the playoffs, they got swept by the number-one-seeded New York Rangers. The Capitals were the last team in the playoffs and the first team out of the playoffs. The Rangers were the President’s Cup winners this year, meaning they ended the regular season with the best record in the NHL.
Student and Capitals fan, Dylan Weaver, had some good views on the end of the Capitals season this year, and some positive outlooks on the future years.
“I think the Capitals got a little unlucky this year, having to play, arguably, the best team in the league. I think they could’ve had a chance against a few other teams in the playoffs,” Weaver said.
Weaver had also made statements about the future of the team, and what he thinks is possible in the near future.
38-year-old captain, Alex Ovechkin, didn’t record a single point throughout the whole series, for the first time in his 20-year career. Having this happen for the first time in a 15-year playoff career is leading fans to believe this is the beginning of the end for the second-leading goal scorer of all time.
“I don’t think this year will be the end of [Ovechkin], I think he said he is going to go for the goals record, but I can see his end coming,” stated Weaver.
Alex Ovechkin is 59 goals behind being the all time goal scorer in the NHL. Last season, Ovechkin was able to score 31 goals, meaning if he kept that pace up he would have to play another two seasons to reach the all time goal.
Although the Capitals have a 30 year old goalie in the net, Charlie Lindgren, he has no playoff experience in his eight year NHL career prior to being swept this year. Many fans and analysts are able to blame the sweep on Lindgren, saying he let in too many goals, and was not ready for the playoff atmosphere.
Throughout the whole series the Capitals recorded eight goals, compared to the Rangers 17 goals. All eight of the goals that the Capitals scored in the whole series, only two of them were scored by members of their top three goal scorers throughout the regular season.
