5 reasons why Washington Capitals will win Stanley Cup

Here are five reasons why the Washington Capitals can finally overcome their past playoff woes and win the Stanley Cup.

The Washington Capitals have been one of the NHL’s best teams throughout the last decade.

These regular season darlings are one of the more surprising teams that have yet to get over the postseason hump, despite making the playoffs in nine of the last 10 seasons.

It would be easy to look at their record and pick them as a favorite to go all the way, but you could have said that at almost any point since they drafted their captain in 2004. Every year they seemingly find new ways to falter when it matters most.

From Bruce Boudreau to Dale Hunter to George McPhee, their underwhelming playoff performances have cost great hockey minds their jobs in this organization. It’s left their fan base with a carrot dangling in front of their faces, starved for a championship since the organization’s inception in 1974-75.

This year, things will be different. Here are five reasons why the Caps will win the Stanley Cup.

5. Alex Ovechkin

How long can one of the most prolific scorers in NHL history be denied a long Stanley Cup run?

Alex Ovechkin will be taking his ridiculous shooting percentage of 13.4 in to the playoffs, and his points per 60 minutes (in all situations) is the highest it’s been since 09-10.

Once again, Ovechkin is leading the NHL scoring race, and has scored 65 percent of his goals at even strength — a sobering thought for his playoff opponents who will have to face the league’s seventh best powerplay while attempting to tame Ovechkin at even strength.

While fans and analysts alike have seemingly always questioned his leadership capabilities, those who are closest to him know better. Wayne Gretzky had this to say about Ovechkin last year:

"“What I love most about Alex [Ovechkin] is that he wants to win a Stanley Cup. There’s a lot of guys that say they do, but that really deep down maybe they don’t. He’s one guy that would do and pretty much give up anything and everything to get his name on a Stanley Cup…Those are the kind of guys, kind of leaders that you want in your organization”"

This team’s window will close eventually and at age 32, his sense of urgency is only increasing.  Expect him to put this team on his back in 2018.

If the opposition devotes all of their resources to smothering him, the Caps have a few more weapons at their disposal…