Washington Capitals will be one of the teams headlining the annual Winter Classic in 2015. The news has generated a lot of excitement among players and fans alike but they also know that there are other really important tasks at hand. The most important of which is to translate the incredible potential and skill on the roster to tangible results.
The Capitals will have the likes of Alex Ovechkin, Martin Erat, Nicklas Backstrom, John Carlson, Marcus Johansson and Mikhail Grabovski to play for the team this season and that makes a very strong team to bank upon. Then there is the Adam Oates factor that has galvanized the team since he has come onboard as the head coach. The time has come for the Capitals to step up to the plate and get their hands on the Stanley Cup. They have a team good enough to do that.
Washington Capitals will be looking to put things right once again in order to make a concerted attempt to clinch the conference title and their first Stanley Cup. Slowly but surely the management has put together a roster that many think is good enough to go all the way. Washington Capitals tickets sales have improved in the last few years as more and more fans have turned up to root for their favorite team live. It will hopefully be more of the same this season as well as the Capitals gets going once again.
The Beginnings
Washington Capitals were one of the two expansion hockey teams to become NHL members for the season to commence in 1974. The other expansion team being, the Kansas City Scouts. They made a poor start to life in the NHL and managed to win eight games during the season. That period of less than favorable performances stretched all the way to 1980’s before the Caps finally began to show improvement.
Playoffs and First Division Title
The 1982-1983 campaign turned out to be Washington Capitals’ first winning season in their history. Their 39-25-16 record was good enough to land them a playoff spot where they fell to the New York Islanders in the division semifinals. The Caps went one step further next season to go all the way to division finals where they once again lost to their nemesis from last season, the Islanders.
Washington Capitals made it to the playoffs consistently for the next few seasons. The time had come to translate that run into championship and the Caps delivered on that front by clinching their first major championship, the division title in the year 1989.
First Conference Title till Now
The Caps spent a low-spirited next decade after their division winning exploits of 1989. No championships were won but things took a bright turn once again. That year saw Caps win their first and till now their only conference title. In 2000 they won the division for the second time. The Caps were determined not to let their standards slip this time around and they delivered on that pledge. One more division title came their way next year. The Caps then followed by winning the division for two years in a row between 2008 and 2011. After a two year long gap, they won another division title.
The Washington Capitals have a very strong backbone. They have pace and skill among their ranks and Adam Oakes as the head coach to make the most of that talent. The squad has the potential to turn this season into a historic one and all that expectation adds an extra dimension to the whole scenario. One thing is for certain,this season is the one not to be missed out on for everyone associated with the Caps.