Capitals set for different result in playoffs this year, here's why.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: The powerhouse Washington Capitals, led by superstar Alex Ovechkin, head into the NHL playoffs as Stanley Cup favorites. It’s a story that’s played itself out more than a few times in Ovechkin’s career, yet he and the team remain without a Stanley Cup championship. This season however, the team’s fans have more reasons for optimism than ever before.

The Capitals and their 31-year old captain have suffered some devastating playoff defeats in the past decade plus, never making it past the second round in any season. So what’s different about this season? Well, for starters the team’s offence is no longer supported only by Ovechkin. Forwards Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Marcus Johansson, TJ Oshie and Justin Williams have provided excellent primary and secondary offence to a team whose only threat used to be an OV one-timer. In fact, for the first time in his career Ovechkin was not the team’s sole leader in goal-scoring, tying Oshie with 33 on the season.

Adding stability to the Capitals lineup is perhaps the league’s deepest defence core. The Caps boast a blue line that features John Carlson, Matt Niskanen, Kevin Shattenkirk and Dmitri Orlov in its top four. The group has played well all season and Shattenkirk, who was acquired from the St Louis Blues at the trade deadline, has fit in perfectly.

But perhaps the Capitals biggest strength is in goal. Caps net minder Braden Holtby started 64 games for the team this year posting a sparkling 2.07 GAA and .925 Sv%. He’ll likely be a candidate for the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender this offseason and he’s a big part of the reason why fans and analysts are picking the Capitals as a Cup favorite this postseason. His calming influence on a team that has their fair share of playoff ups and downs cannot be understated.

When the puck drops on the Capitals first round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight, the team has the skill and determination to put to rest nearly 15 years worth of playoff disappointment…all they have to do is win.