NHL playoffs 2018: Capitals vs. Blue Jackets preview and prediction
The Washington Capitals will square off with the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, a battle of two teams fighting desperately to exorcise their playoff demons.
On Thursday April 12, two of the hottest teams in the NHL will square off in a best-of-seven series when the Washington Capitals meet the Columbus Blue Jackets for the first time in a playoff series.
This matchup was a popular pick at the beginning of the year with different expectations on both sides, but the storylines have changed.
When the regular season began, nobody expected the Capitals to finish remotely close to where they’ve finished the last two years after losing the amount of depth that they did in the offseason. But, through the will of Alex Ovechkin’s Rocket Richard and Hart Trophy candidacy season, the Capitals came out atop the Metropolitan Division for a third straight year with 105 points. Red-hot goaltender Phillip Grubauer will get the start in Game 1 over Braden Holtby.
Washington’s hopes depend on if the bottom six is finally able to provide the depth scoring that has been lacking in postseasons past. Last year, the Capitals got three goals from players not in the top six, all from Tom Wilson in the first round, eventually leading to another second round defeat. If players like Andre Burakovsky, Lars Eller, Jakub Vrana and Brett Connolly can step up and come through for Washington during key moments, then watch out.
Last year in the postseason, the Capitals defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in Round 1 in six games, and were beaten by the Pittsburgh Penguins for a second straight year in the second round in seven games. The Capitals enter this postseason after heating up at the right time, winning eight of their last ten and winners of the season series over the Blue Jackets 3-1.
Columbus was quite the interesting team to watch throughout the regular season. At some points, it seemed as though the Blue Jackets were the favorites to take the crowded Metropolitan Division, and at others, they looked as though they were competing with the New York Rangers to get a higher draft pick. Columbus hung around in a decent spot for a majority of the year, but just couldn’t get the consistency to really string together points.
When things finally began to pick up was after the trade deadline after acquiring depth like Mark Letestu, Thomas Vanek and Ian Cole. Right away they thrashed the Capitals in a 5-1 win for their only win of the season series right after the deadline and lost only five games from the deadline to the end of the season. If Sergei Bobrovsky can shake the playoff demons out of his head and play the level we have come to expect from him, this could be a very dangerous team.
Last year in the postseason, the Blue Jackets were beaten in five games by the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins, in what was a stunningly disappointing performance after a great season. The difference this year is that Columbus comes into the postseason steaming hot rather than ice cold, and sometimes that can make all the difference.
Both teams are hungry to wash the stench of failure from their franchise, and don’t let the seeding differential fool you — this is a very even series between two red-hot teams down the stretch. This series could hinge on a few bounces either way to decide it, but the Capitals have matched up well with the Blue Jackets in the past and having the resurgence of the greatest goal scorer of this era could be the edge in this series.
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Unfortunately, one team will not shedding the choking label just yet, and the X factors almost all sit in the Capitals corner. Washington’s motivation has to be greater than Columbus’ despite years of embarrassment for both sides, but if they’re the same as we’ve seen in the past, they are in serious trouble. Columbus will give Washington everything they’ve got and then some, but the Capitals capitalize on a few extra chances to squeeze out an exhausting, exciting, and painful six game series