Washington earned its 50th win on the season in overtime fashion last night. They have been atop the leagues’ point ladder for most of the season and now have 105 on the year. Dallas and St. Louis are the next closest team with 91 points respectively.
The facets behind which has given Washington great success this season, come in a diverse range. They have scoring threats on multiple lines, and a Vezina candidate man between the pipes. The defense has also played exceptionally well and this may just be their year.
I know the running joke among hockey fans is that ‘Ovechkin can’t win a Cup’ but if they can build momentum into the playoffs that may change in 2016. They are primed to also hoist the President’s Trophy, which can be a curse in itself, but with the talent on this team, it is one they can overcome.
Since the start of February, this team has gone 15-6-1 and with thirteen games remaining on their season, will only need to play .500 hockey to eclipse 120 points.
Scoring depth
The trio of Backstrom, Kuznetsov, and Ovechkin have all passed the sixty-point mark already this season. Kuznetsov would be the teams’ MVP this season, in my opinion. He leads the team in points with seventy, having tallied twenty goals and fifty assists. He has also done so with a +30 rating further showing his value to the team and the success his line brings.
Ovechkin is playing like we all expect and with a strong finish will once again have a fifty goal campaign. He currently has forty-two, and eight goals over thirteen games is not outlandish to see him accomplish.
Backstrom continues to be the assist machine we are accustomed to him being. His forty-five on the year and +16 rating continue to show his value to this franchise.
Williams is also quietly having a great season behind this above mentioned trio. He has registered forty-eight points with twenty-one goals and +20 rating. Similarly, the addition of Oshie in the off season has had positive dividends. He has contributed well for his new team with forty-three points and twenty-one goals himself.
The Defense
With the exception of Orpik and Chorney, who have both missed some time this season because of the injury bug, the blue line has stayed healthy and performed at a top level. As a group they all have +/- over +9 and give Holtby a great group in front of him that minimize scoring opportunities. The group have also all found a way to contribute on the score sheet.
Carlson leads the group with thirty-one points coupled with a +9 rating. Niskanen is close behind with twenty-nine and +12 rating. Orlov rounds out the top three point producers from the blue line with twenty-six and another +12.
Alzner and Schmidt may not be the point producing defenseman like their counterparts, but have +15 and +14 ratings respectively. The have combined for thirty-five points as well, but a great +/- rating, for me, shows their value. It may be an overlooked stat and can be flawed in an individual sense. However, if your entire defensive unit have +/- ratings between +9 and +15, it shows that all three units are doing their job, and doing it well.
Young talent
This team is riddled with talent, and a fair chunk of it still have yet to hit their ceiling. Six everyday players are under 25 and the teams’ point leader, Kuznetsov, leads that group. Burakovsky is another young stud on this team that has the talent and skill to be a 2nd line left winger behind Ovechkin. He has tallied thirty-four points this season and I feel will be another sixty plus point player for this team in the future.
Williams and Oshie control the right wing spots, but keep an eye on Wilson. His twenty-point season may not be as flashy as others, but he plays the game well and provides a scoring threat on the 3rd line.
The center position is controlled by Kuznetsov and Backstrom, but another youngster, Latta, is a good option on the 3rd or 4th line. Unfortunately, he has missed time this year, having played in only forty-one games where he has tallied seven points.
Galiev is a prospect we have seen glimpses of this year in his nineteen games with the team. Not a great sample size to see what he’ll bring but contending franchises have combinations of veteran and young talent, which this team certainly does.
I mentioned how great the defence has been, and Orlov and Schmidt are big pieces of it. They are both under 25 and will only continue to be better blue liners for this team. They both have great +/- ratings and have the potential to add forty plus points per season as well.
Man between the pipes
This team can have all the scoring power and talented blue line it wants, but if their goalie cannot stop the puck, it really does not matter. In the case of Holtby, he does just that for this team. In his 55 games played this year he has a 42-8-4 record. Winning games in overtime and the shutout is key for winning franchises. Not just to get the extra point, but to build momentum and dig deep in moments where the tank is near empty.
His 2.22 GAA and .922 save percentage are also remarkable. He is certainly worthy of a Vezina trophy this season and at only 26 years old could bring Washington back to the playoffs for many more seasons. This season has been no fluke because over his short career he has already achieved a solid record of 142-59-22, a 2.39 GAA, and .921 save percentage.
Backup Grubauer has also played well this year in his eighteen games. He has an 8-6-1 record, 2.15 GAA, and .925 save percentage. When Holtby has the night off Grub feeds on shots and spits them back out just as well as the everyday goalie.
This team has played exceptional hockey all season long and anything less than a Conference Final appearance will be seen as a bust, in my opinion. They have registered five or more goals in fourteen games and only been shut out twice all season.
With the current standings their first round matchup would be against Detroit. This is the opponent that gave them one of their two shutouts on the season and the goal total is 5 to 4. Although they have not played each other since December this would be an intriguing first round matchup. As great as home ice advantage is, the Red Wings would put up a great fight and an upset is very possible.
I did say that it’s either Conference Final or bust for this team, which I do believe to be true, but you have to win eight games before you get there. If they have to get the first four versus Detroit it may be a long road for Washington throughout the playoffs.
Thank you again to all my readers. Please follow myself along with Super Two Sports on Twitter @GHam614 and @SuperTwo_Sports
*stats as of March 15th
