Washington Capitals: Three Team Predictions and Three NHL Predictions
With the start of the National Hockey League season not too far off, the Washington Capitals enter the season once again as one of the favorites to win the cup. Here are five predictions about the Caps and three predictions about the rest of the league.
The preseason is already here and the Washington Capitals are getting ready in preparation for the regular season. With things fast approaching, it would be appropriate to make a couple of predictions for this season. So, without further ado, here’s my three and three: three NHL predictions and three Washington Capitals predictions.
National Hockey League predictions:
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The Detroit Red Wings finally miss the playoffs:
Although some people have been making this prediction for years now, I think this is the season where Detroit’s luck runs out and they’re on the outside looking in. Twenty-five years straight making the playoffs is hard to ignore, but all streaks have to end sometime. With the Tampa Bay Lightning and a Montreal Canadiens team that is getting a healthy Carey Price back, Detroit will have to struggle to get that third spot against the likes of the Florida Panthers and Buffalo Sabres. That is not taking into account the fact that the Metro could be strong enough this season again to send two wild card teams.
Patrick Kane’s numbers will decline to the norm:
Perhaps a bit of a predictable prediction, but Patrick Kane’s numbers will decline to the mean and nowhere near his impressive performance from last season. Part of this will have to do with the fact that Kane has only played a full 82 games in less than half his seasons, with the season before seeing Kane only playing in 61 games. Still, even if he plays a full 82, I believe that the Blackhawks winger will have numbers closer to his usual averages.
A team that hasn’t won the Stanley Cup will be the one to win it all this season:
Yes, this would have to include the Washington Capitals, but this is not a prediction limited to them. Including the boys in red, the other active teams that have not won the cup who were in the playoffs last season were San Jose, St. Louis, Florida, Minnesota, and Nashville. San Jose was a participant in the finals last season, while St. Louis was a favorite to win it all, as well as the Capitals. I have a feeling that one of these teams is due, and whoever that team is (obviously we all know who we’re rooting for), that team will be hoisting their first cup at the end of the season.
Washington Capitals predictions:
Evgeny Kuznetsov will lead the Caps in points again and be a contender for the Art Ross Trophy:
The center is still young, but expectations for Evgeny Kuznetsov are high this season. As previously started by contributor Nathan Sick, Kuznetsov has already put up great numbers in his career so far and he’s only going to get better. I think it would not be too far off to say he could even be the top scorer on the Capitals this season and be in the running for the Art Ross Trophy.
Lars Eller will prove to be worth the trade:
It’s odd to say that a guy who will see most of his time on the third line will be a pivotal piece of the Caps Stanley Cup victory puzzle, but with the addition of Lars Eller from Montreal, it seems to be the case. Depth was a problem last year for the Caps in the playoffs. That was why they went out and traded for Eller, who I think will prove to be helpful when it counts the most, which will be in the postseason.
(If the Capitals win the Stanley Cup) Alex Ovechkin will win the Conn Smythe:
Of course, this is all predicated on if the Capitals end up winning the Stanley Cup. If fortune ends up favoring the Caps this season and they finally get to hold their first ever Stanley Cup, it will be due to the hard work of Alex Ovechkin. If there’s any player on the Caps that can step it up in the playoffs, it will be Ovechkin that will lead the way for the rest of the team.
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