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NHL Playoffs 2021: 3 reasons Washington Capitals will win Stanley Cup

By Dave Stevenson

Mar 28, 2021; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Capitals defenseman Zdeno Chara (33) celebrates with teammates during the third period of the game against the New York Rangers at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Scott Taetsch-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 28, 2021; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Capitals defenseman Zdeno Chara (33) celebrates with teammates during the third period of the game against the New York Rangers at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Scott Taetsch-USA TODAY Sports /
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Washington Capitals
Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Intangibles

In case you couldn’t tell by my use of stats, I’m a big fan of numbers. However, because hockey is such a cruel and heartless sport, numbers aren’t enough to win a Stanley Cup. The President’s Trophy winner doesn’t win the Stanley Cup nearly as much as you’d think the best team over an 82 game (or 56 games this year) sample size would. That’s right, you need intangibles to win.

Intangibles are, by their very definition, impossible to quantify and measure. There’s no way to measure precisely how much grit, leadership, heart (electrocardiograms don’t count!), or will to win a team has. That said, the Capitals certainly have intangibles on their side.

Champions overcome adversity. Winning the Stanley Cup requires you to win 16 games against the best of the best after an already brutal regular season. The Capitals have proven they can overcome whatever is tossed their way. They’ve gone a remarkable 5-0-1 this season without Ovechkin. Four of those wins have come against the New York Islanders.

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Without Ovechkin, Kuznetsov, second-pairing defenseman Dmitry Orlov, and Samsonov, the Capitals went 3-0-1 in January. They’ve proven they can win in a variety of ways. And when their backs have been against the wall, that’s when they’ve usually played their best hockey. It’s going to be very hard to eliminate the Capitals. I don’t see them going down in fewer than six games to anybody.

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