With only five regular-season games remaining, first-year bench boss Barry Trotz looks primed to lead the Washington Capitals to the franchise's seventh Stanley Cup Playoffs appearance in eight years.
But while the postseason berths are nice, the Caps' lack of success beyond April has been a major storyline for this team since the Alex Ovechkin era began in 2005-06, and that's why Trotz was brought in last summer.
The hope was that Trotz could bring the same intensity and defensive posture that were trademarks of his teams during the 14 seasons he spent with the Nashville Predators, and at least 78 games in, there's a lot to like about the job he's done.
Yes, the Caps currently sit in danger of ending up as a wild card in the Eastern Conference, but even if that remains the case following April 11, this is not a squad to be taken lightly this spring.
This is a vastly different team than the one that missed the playoffs a year ago, so with that in mind, here's a look at five reasons to believe this could be the year the Caps advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1998.
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Article written by Ryan Davenport
5 Reasons to Believe This Is the Year for the Washington Capitals
April 2nd, 2015 by Ryan Davenport Leave a reply »
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