Washington Capitals: What every contender can learn from them

The Washington Capitals are ready to defend their Stanley Cup, but they have some competition. What can every contender learn from them?

As training camps started up again on Friday, one of the more upbeat groups seemed to be in our nation’s capital, as the Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals looked excited and prepared to defend that title.

Like with every championship team, there are lessons to be learned as far as what worked and what did not during the cup run. With most of the group returning from the playoffs, the Capitals themselves are probably still mindful of those lessons.

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But what about the other contenders for the Stanley Cup? All of them fell short of their ultimate goal last season, and it is very possible that they are now looking at the 2017-18 Washington Capitals as their guide for how to get over the hump.

No two teams are exactly the same, which means no two teams would take the same exact lessons from the Capitals. Instead, these squads could be looking for tips with regards to roster construction, system, or even intangibles.

Take these same Washington Capitals, for instance. Everybody knows how they struggled to get over the hump for over a decade, including two painful losses to the rival Pittsburgh Penguins in the years preceding their championship season.

During those two seasons, the Capitals frequently dominated play offensively and were one of the best teams in the league in shot attempts percentage. In the playoffs, however, their flaws were exposed by a faster Penguins team that took advantage of better-quality chances.

Last season, the Capitals took a page out of the Penguins’ template, clogging up the neutral zone to create chances on the counter-attack. While this meant fewer chances overall than their previous two years, they were frequently odd-man rushes or other high-quality opportunities.

This article will consider what each legitimate Stanley Cup contender for the 2018-19 season can learn from the 2017-18 Washington Capitals in order to improve their chances of winning it all this season. As mentioned, these lessons will vary from team-to-team.

Before going through each team in depth, here are the teams that are just a step below being true contenders in my eyes:

• Boston Bruins: The B’s have unfortunately failed to improve over the offseason, and they were not good enough last year to make up for that. Other teams in the division and league have passed them by.
• St. Louis Blues: The Blues had one of the best offseasons of any team in the NHL, but considering that they missed the playoffs last year, it is too early to name them contenders. They could be a surprise, however.
• Philadelphia Flyers: The Flyers have a very good offense and a talented young defense. They lack an elite difference-maker outside of Claude Giroux, however, and their goaltending is horrendous on paper.

In alphabetical order, here is one lesson every true contender can learn from the Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals.

Pittsburgh Penguins: Rest

Honestly, the Pittsburgh Penguins do not need to learn anything from the Washington Capitals. As mentioned already, the Capitals actually took much of their playoff game-plan from the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champion Penguins.

The main reason the Capitals prevailed in their second-round series with Pittsburgh last season was because they executed the plan better than the Penguins did. Washington’s biggest goals in the series, including Evgeny Kuznetsov’s overtime winner, were all on counter-attacks.

Why were the Capitals able to beat the Penguins at their own game? Because this system of counter-attacking requires speed at all times in a game, which requires durability and energy. In other words, it requires rest.

The Penguins had played a lot of hockey entering this series last postseason after two Stanley Cup runs. They were exhausted and looked the part, with their counter-attack not looking nearly as potent as it had the previous two springs.

This season, Pittsburgh will enter a potential series with Washington as the more rested team of the two. This is actually something the Capitals themselves will have to think about and contend with in order to accomplish their goal of repeating as champions.

As far as the Penguins go, as long as they have rested up over the offseason and do not over-exert themselves in the regular season, they should be confident in their ability to play their game and make another deep playoff run.

San Jose Sharks: Better Offensive Depth

The San Jose Sharks have been considered by many to be the Washington Capitals of the Western Conference. Like the Caps, the Sharks have a history of disappointing playoff exits after great regular seasons, as well as their own legend in search of a cup in Joe Thornton.

It should not be too much of a surprise, then, that what would help San Jose the most would be what many experts attribute Washington’s championship to. Per JJ Regan of NBC Sports Washington:

What was lost in Vegas’ impressive postseason run was the fact that the Caps’ roster was far superior in terms of depth. In terms of pure talent, the Caps had the edge over the Golden Knights on every single line.

Think back to the storylines surrounding this team during the cup run: the elevated play of Lars Eller, the emergence of Devante Smith-Pelly, and the importance of adding Michal Kempny. All of these elements have one thing in common – they were depth players that stepped up.

Eller and Smith Pelly, in particular, are illustrative of what the Sharks can learn from the Washington Capitals: the depth players on offense must step up. San Jose has great top-end talent and a stud blue-line, especially after trading for Erik Karlsson.

What the Sharks lack, however, is that potential difference-maker outside of their top-six forwards. Based on their depth chart, San Jose will currently be counting on Kevin Labanc and Timo Meier, among others, to continue to put up solid offensive numbers.

During their ten playoff games last season, however, only Logan Couture was over a point-per-game. Only five players had more than five points in ten games. Depth players such as Joonas Donsko and Melker Karlsson did not contribute as much as San Jose likely needed them to.

It is possible that these depth players and others will be able to step up in the playoffs, but it may be worth it for San Jose to look into acquiring a solid middle-six forward who can contribute in important situations.

The addition of Erik Karlsson may elevate everybody on the team, but if there is one lesson the Sharks can learn from the Washington Capitals, it is that a little depth can go a long way.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Execution

The Tampa Bay Lightning should have defeated the Washington Capitals in the playoffs last season. The fact that they did not is more due to their own mistakes than anything Washington did to stifle them.

That is not to say that the Capitals did not earn their victory. Braden Holtby had two of the best games of his life, and Washington’s offensive depth delivered when needed. Those are two characteristics of a Stanley Cup champion.

But the reason I say Tampa lost the series rather than Washington winning it is because if the Bolts had continued to execute in Games 6 and 7 like they did in Games 3-5, they would have won the series. And boy, did they come close.

The Capitals dominated Game 6 physically and were easily the better team there. But Tampa was the far superior team in Game 7 despite going down 1-0 early, dominating most of the first and second periods until Andre Burakovsky put the game out of reach.

Not only did the Bolts have more scoring opportunities, they also arguably had better scoring opportunities. There is not a single Lightning fan alive who could have forgotten about Yanni Gourde fanning on the empty net with a chance to tie the game.

Of course, much of the discussion after the loss centered around the struggles of Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov, who were virtually invisible at even-strength throughout the series.

These are all examples of Tampa Bay failing to execute their game-plan. The top-six, which had been dominant against the New Jersey Devils and Boston Bruins, was shut down and even taken advantage of by the aforementioned Washington counter-attack.

Speaking of Washington, they did not have any troubles with their execution. They generated good opportunities on thecounter-attack, and players from up-and-down the lineup converted when needed most.

Here is the main point: Tampa has way too much talent for being shut down like that to be a valid excuse. Their players simply need to step up, especially at even strength, and generate and convert those high-quality chances, such as the Gourde miss.

Being more defensively sound to prevent goals like the Burakovsky ones would help as well, but the Lightning offense is so good that doing so should not even be necessary. If their offense is clicking, they can and will beat any team in the league.

Toronto Maple Leafs: A Better Defense

The Toronto Maple Leafs will win the Presidents’ Trophy this year. I am making that prediction right now because they are built very similarly to teams that have won that award in the past, including former Washington Capitals teams.

Toronto’s offense is absolutely fantastic. They have top-tier talent (and lot of it), depth, speed, physicality, and anything else a fan or analyst could want from a group of forwards. Frederick Andersen is also a good goaltender who can lead a team deep into the postseason.

Unfortunately, the Leafs defense is horrendous. Atrocious. Terrible. Any other synonym one wants would apply to this defensive corps. Fans hoping for Travis Dermott, Connor Carrick or some prospect to be a difference-maker on the blue line are, frankly, living on a prayer.

Now, a team can win a Stanley Cup with a subpar defense on paper. The 2016-17 Pittsburgh Penguins proved that when Ron Hainsey and Chad Ruhwedel played important roles on a championship-winning team.

The 2017-18 Washington Capitals did not have a particularly impressive defense on paper either. Brooks Orpik and Christian Djoos does not stand out as a championship-level third pairing on the back end.

What the Penguins and Capitals lacked in star power, however, they made up for with their defensive system. Players such as Brian Dumoulin and Michal Kempny proved to be great puck-handlers who were adept at starting breakouts while playing sound defense.

Additionally, both teams had a top-tier offensive defenseman on their team, Kris Letang for Pittsburgh and John Carlson for Washington. Morgan Reilly of the Leafs may be reaching that elite level, but he is not there yet.

What the Maple Leafs remind me of are the 2009-10 Washington Capitals. That was also a team with an absolutely elite offense and reliable goaltender that dominated the regular season. Unfortunately, the defense was awful outside of Norris Trophy candidate Mike Green.

Reilly is not yet at the elite level Green was at that season, and Toronto’s defense is in no way significantly better than that Washington team’s. This season could be a rude awakening for Maple Leafs fans who believe their offense can make up for their subpar defense in the playoffs.

Toronto absolutely must acquire a defenseman who can eat minutes and play solid in all three zones. Those players are not easy to come by, but they have the prospects to bring one in if one is available. If they do so, they may be the Stanley Cup favorites as well.

Vegas Golden Knights: Better Offensive Depth

Honestly, the Vegas Golden Knights have done a great job addressing this issue already, so this page should not take too long.

As mentioned before, Washington’s primary advantage over Vegas in the finals was their offensive depth, and the fact that they got production from all parts of the lineup. Vegas, after receiving depth production in the first three rounds, did not get much of it after Game 1 of the finals.

But like I said, with the additions of Paul Stastny and Max Pacioretty, the Golden Knights have shown that they are going all-in to address their areas of concern. Could they use another depth center? Perhaps, but that is nit-picking at this point.

Some fans may believe (or hope) the Vegas run last season was a fluke. And perhaps it was. But with the improvements they have made in the offseason, the Golden Knights are primed for another Stanley Cup run.

Winnipeg Jets: Counter Attack

The Winnipeg Jets are a young, up-and-coming team with a bright future. They may very well be the best team in the league, and could win multiple Stanley Cups in the coming years.

So perhaps it is for the best that the biggest lesson they could learn from the Washington Capitals is the biggest lesson the Capitals themselves implemented this last postseason: stop the opposing counter attack.

Winnipeg was very good against the Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators, but their success ran out against Vegas. Frank Seravalli of TSN pointed out two reasons for this that are related.

The first reason was one that Capitals fans will be intimately familiar with: a team dominating a game in terms of shot attempts but failing to convert on their opportunities. This was an issue for Washington for many years until this last postseason.

The second reason was that Winnipeg was turning the puck over too much. Per Seravalli:

They may seem uncharacteristic, but part of that is the pressure that the Jets have been under because of the speed of the Golden Knights. The Jets can skate with them, but they haven’t moved the puck clean enough or quickly enough.

Both of these reasons are indicative of a problem with squashing an opponent’s counter attack. The Jets, like Capitals teams of years prior, got a lot of shot attempts, but few quality opportunities. Then, with their poor puck control, it was easy for the opponents to take advantage.

Washington solved this issue by implementing their owncounter-attackingg system that turned the tables on the other teams. The defense bent, but did not break, and it was the opposing team who was pressured into making bad turnovers.

It remains to be seen how the Jets will be able to respond to the counter-attacking issue in their own way. They could copy Washington’s strategy, or come up with something completely on their own. But at the end of the day, they must learn from the Capitals how to deal with such a system.

This is shaping up to be a very exciting season in the NHL, as the Washington Capitals have a bevy of contenders vying for their crown. All of these teams are capable of unseating the champions, but they have their own issues to overcome to do so.

These are only some of the lessons each team can take from the Capitals in order to make a cup run this season. What do you think? Do any of these teams have a more pressing issue to address? Any additional contenders I did not mention. Let me know in the comments below!