Capitals rode Ovechkin, savvy defensemen to clinch playoff berth

WASHINGTON -- After winning the Presidents' Trophy the past two seasons, the Washington Capitals were expected to take a step back.

This has been a transition season following the departures of forwards Justin Williams, Marcus Johansson and Daniel Winnik, and defensemen Karl Alzner, Kevin Shattenkirk and Nate Schmidt. But the Capitals are in position to finish in first place in Metropolitan Division for the third straight season, and clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the fourth consecutive season on Thursday.
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Washington (46-24-7) leads the Pittsburgh Penguins by five points for first place in the Metropolitan Division with five games remaining. After experiencing some growing pains and going 10-9-1 in their first 20 games, the Capitals went 17-4-2 from Nov. 18 to Jan. 9 to surge to the top of the Metropolitan Division.
Now, they're finishing the season strong with five straight wins and nine in their past 10 (9-1-0) heading into their game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSWA, FS-CR, NHL.TV).

"We knew there was going to be some ups and downs and one of the main goals was making the playoffs," goaltender Braden Holtby said. "The goals shifted a little bit when we started having success early, but at the start of the year that was our main goal, so it's good. The guys should be proud.
They should be proud we're in a position like that, and then you move on to the next goal."
Here are five reasons the Capitals clinched a playoff berth:

1. Ovechkin's rebound season

Some wondered if forward Alex Ovechkin's days as an elite scorer were over after he dropped to 33 goals last season. The 32-year-old has responded with a season worthy of Hart Trophy consideration, leading the NHL with 45 goals, his ninth season with at least 40.
The Washington captain is bidding to lead the League in goals for the seventh time in his 13-season NHL career and to score at least 50 for the eighth time.
Ovechkin's 45 goals represent 18.8 percent of the Capitals' total of 240 this season. Washington is 26-6-2 when he scores at least one goal and 20-18-5 when he doesn't score.
"A lot of games, throughout the year, throughout the season, you're down one or two and he scores one and then scores another and it changes the game," forward Tom Wilson said. "When he's going and he's shooting and he's skating, he's a force to be reckoned with."

2. Veteran defensemen

After losing Alzner, Shattenkirk and Schmidt, rookie defensemen Christian Djoos and Madison Bowey played regularly until Michal Kempny (Feb. 19) and Jakub Jerabek (Feb. 21) were acquired in trades. That put a lot of pressure on the veteran defensemen - John Carlson, Dmitry Orlov, Matt Niskanen and Brooks Orpik - to carry the load, particularly early in the season, when Djoos and Bowey were learning the NHL game.
Orlov and Niskanen have been steady on the Capitals top pair. Orpik, 37, played alongside Carlson in the second pair until Djoos moved up into that role.
In the final season of his contract, Carlson, 28, has been a workhorse, leading the Capitals in averaging 24:50 of ice time per game. He has set personal NHL highs with 15 goals, 49 assists and 64 points, the most points in the League among defensemen.
"He's a top defenseman in this league. He's shown it," coach Barry Trotz said. "This year, he's played some high minutes for us in a lot of different situations, so it's just the growth of a good player."

3. Goaltending tandem

It might be difficult to remember now because of his recent struggles, but Holtby, 28, covered up a lot of the Capitals' defensive issues in the first half. A Vezina Trophy finalist each of the past two seasons and the winner in 2015-16, he went 28-10-2 in his first 40 starts.
After that, he was pulled three times in his next eight starts, going 1-5-2 with a 4.82 goals-against average and an .854 save percentage. Fortunately for the Capitals, backup Philipp Grubauer, 26, was ready to carry a bigger load.
Since Feb. 15, Grubauer is 10-2-0 with a 1.92 GAA, a .936 save percentage and two shutouts, making a case to be the Capitals starter when the playoff begin.

4. Centers of attention

Though the Capitals have shuffled their wings around at times in search of more goal production, their four centers - Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Lars Eller and Jay Beagle - have provided a stabilizing constant.
Before Kuznetsov missed three games with an upper-body injury March 18-22, those four had missed a total of four games over the past two seasons - one each for Backstrom and Eller this season and one each for Eller and Beagle last season.
"With how much a centerman has had to do on the ice, it really is amazing," forward T.J. Oshie said.
Backstrom has dropped from a Capitals-high 86 points (23 goals, 63 assists) last season to 65 points (19 goals, 46 assists), but Kuznetsov has picked up the slack, going from 59 points (19 goals, 40 assists) to equaling his NHL-high with 77 (career-high 25 goals, 52 assists). Eller has established personal NHL highs with 18 goals and 38 points.

5. Barry Trotz

In the final year of his contract, Trotz's future beyond this season remains unclear, but the 55-year-old has calmly ignored his lack of job security and helped the Capitals exceed expectations so far with a lineup that regularly included four rookies -- Bowey, Djoos, forward Jakub Vrana and center Chandler Stephenson.

Instead of pushing during a difficult first month, Trotz gave the players room to work through their disappointment from losing to the Penguins in the Eastern Conference Second Round for the second consecutive season.
Following a 6-2 loss at the Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 16, Trotz called out players during a locker room meeting that turned the season around.