The Capitals capped off their amazing season by winning the Presidents' Trophy.
Perhaps it's only fitting that the Presidents' hardware now resides in Washington, D.C. With their 54th win of the season, a 4-1 drubbing of the Blue Jackets on Monday, the Capitals clinched the NHL's top seed by picking up their 112th and 113th points and ensuring the rest of the league can't catch up to them.
Now, the Stanley Cup playoffs will flow through the nation's capital with Washington on top of the standings and earning home-ice advantage through all four rounds. It is the second time in franchise history the Capitals won the Presidents' Trophy, the last time coming in 2008-09 when the team amounted 121 points, but lost in the quarterfinals of the playoffs.
Since its inception in the 1985-86 season, only eight teams have gone on to win the Stanley Cup after clinching the Presidents' Trophy. As the Capitals look to become the ninth club, here are five reasons why they won the prize.
1) Alex Ovechkin
Ovechkin may not be able to beat out the Blackhawks' Patrick Kane for his fourth Hart Trophy, but he's well on his way to his fourth consecutive (and sixth overall) Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as the league's highest goal-scorer. Ovechkin, who has become a better two-way player under Barry Trotz over the last two years, leads the NHL with 43 goals and has seven game-winning markers for Washington this season.
2) Capitalizing On Depth
The Capitals made two huge moves prior to the season, acquiring T.J. Oshie from the Blues and adding Game 7 phenomenon Justin Williams out of free agency. Washington boasts a tremendous top-six with a line of Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Williams followed by a unit of Andre Burakovsky, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Oshie. The depth up front has made the Capitals into a better-rounded group.
3) Scoring Sensations
The Capitals lead the Eastern Conference with 232 goals-for, a mark that translates to 3.09 goals-for per game. Including Ovechkin's 43 markers, Washington boasts five players with at least 20 tallies, including Oshie (24), Williams (22), Kuznetsov (20) and Backstrom (20), while Jason Chimera has 18 tallies, Burakovsky has 16 and Marcus Johansson has found the twine 15 times.
Kuznetsov is also third in the NHL in plus-minus (plus-28) and assists (53) and tied for fifth in points (73), while Backstrom is tied for fourth with 47 helpers.
4) Defense & Goaltending
Washington's defense, flanked by a unit of Karl Alzner and Matt Niskanen, is tied for the NHL lead by letting up a league-low 2.32 goals per game, which translates to 174 goals-against up to this point. Goaltender Braden Holtby is pacing the NHL with 45 wins, just three victories shy of Martin Brodeur's single-season record of 48. Though he had a better first-half than second, Holtby still ranks fifth in the league with a 2.19 goals-against average and tied for sixth with a 9.23 save percentage.
5) Scintillating Special Teams
As in most seasons, the Capitals power play has been an unbelievable strength, leading the Eastern Conference and placing second in the NHL with a 22.7 percent conversion rate. Leading the charge is Ovechkin, who has an NHL-best 17 goals on the man-advantage entering Tuesday. Washington's penalty kill has also been a strength, placing fourth in the NHL at 84.8 percent.
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