The Capitals have won two in a row and are 6-2-2 in their last ten.
They are back atop the Metro and looking like a sure-thing to make the Playoffs.
Alex Ovechkin is 10th in the point race, and 1st in goals.
Braden Holtby should be a lock for a Vezina nom, and in my opinion he should win it (Vaselesky has nice stats, but he's in front of a way way better team).
Last night they played the Devils for their final game of 2017 and won by the impressive score of 5-2. Not only did they win, but they looked good doing it.
It's a fitting end to 2017 for the Capitals. They won the President's Trophy last year as the NHL's best team, and despite a horrible offseason, they remain in first in the Metro.
OF note: with last night's win, according to TSN, Barry Trotz becomes the fifth most winningest coach of all time. Of course like most things in 2017 this comes with an *. This time because the lack of ties make guys who've coached in this era win way more games than they did in previous ones.
Funny that Trotz should get such an honor on a night when he made one of his worst ever decisions: healthy scratching Alex Burakovsky.
Sure, he's only got 8 points in 19 games, but he also has had to recover from missing six weeks with an injury. He also plays the majority of his time with Eller and Connolly, a good line, but not one that will ever score a ton. If you want more offense from him, you have to play him with the other offensive players.
He also only gets 1 minute of PP time per game, which helps to explain his low totals.
Burakovsky - even when he doesn't score - gives you a solid, error free game and the puck is always going in the right direction.
The Capitals have several non-NHL players on their roster, and frankly, I am stunned that they'd healthy scratch Burakovsky. It's kind of outragous. Trotz's ego must be out of control.
This is a team with Devonte Pelly-Smith currently on the first line.
Give me a break. Nice win though.
stats from naturalstattrick.com
Oh, and Happy New Years to all of you at Hockeybuzz who read my stuff, comment on it, or whatever. Much appreciation! Hope ya'll have a safe and fun New Years eve and a great New Year.