Washington Capitals Season Check-in

After squeaking into the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Washington Capitals’ mediocre season came to a close in a first round sweep to the New York Rangers. This was not the only loss the Caps suffered last season, though – the team saw long-term injuries in veteran leaders like TJ Oshie and Nicklas Backstrom.

With injuries and aging players like captain Alex Ovechkin, the Capitals needed to balance depth and youth in their lineup. Over the offseason, the organization picked up key players like forwards Pierre-Luc Dubois, Brandon Duhaime, and Andrew Mangiapane, defenseman Jakob Chychrun, and goalie Logan Thompson. Meanwhile, players like Connor McMichael, Aliaksei Protas, Hendrix Lapierre, Nic Dowd – the budding stars of the next Capitals generation were expected to step up and excel this season.

And indeed they delivered. The Caps got off to a hot start for this 2025 season, and saw immediate performances from top players like Dylan Strome, John Carlson, Tom Wilson, and more surprisingly, Alex Ovechkin.

As he chases down the all-time NHL goals record, Ovechkin put up 15 goals and 10 assists, combining for 25 points in just 18 games. The 39 year-old future hall of famer was looking like a new player and was even leading the league in scoring until a fractured leg saw him out for about 6 weeks.

In spite of Ovechkin’s November injury, the Caps have proven to be a wagon of a team. McMichael, Strome, Wilson, Protas, Chychrun, Carlson, Thompson, and Lindgren have had consistently lights-out performances that have launched the Caps to one of the top teams in the league standings. In fact, during Ovechkin’s injury, the team set a franchise record of 10 consecutive road wins.

Now that Ovechkin has been around for a few of games since his leave, the Caps seem to be continuing to play well, going 4-3, and competing closely with some of the other top teams in the league. Since his return “The Great 8” has put up 4 goals, leaving him with just 23 more needed to break the record.

The Capitals are also excited to add American prospects Ryan Leonard and Cole Hutson to the roster soon after their stellar performances in the NCAA and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Juniors, where Team USA clinched gold. With a solid team, the Caps seek to continue their successes into the playoffs, while also establishing and developing core players for future seasons.

Caps fans are in for a fun ride as we approach the second half of the NHL season, as we may see Ovechkin making history, along with a strong end to the regular season and a good playoff run.