Anybody who didn’t think the Washington Capitals would go to the finals, let alone win the Stanley Cup, was clearly someone who didn’t pay attention to the Caps, or understand just how good this team was.

To be fair, this is a team that has won three President’s Trophies and won their division seven times in the Alex Ovechkin era. And yet how many Stanley Cups do they have to show for it? Zero. Not one Stanley Cup, despite the fact that they have arguably one of the best players in the world. Not only has this team not won a cup, but they haven’t even gotten to the Stanley Cup Finals, or even past the second round of the playoffs for that matter.

This is a team that just oozes disappointment, and the Toronto Maple Leafs are about to be the bearers of bad news for Caps fans this time around.

Nobody who looked at the numbers could possibly think that the Toronto Maple Leafs had a chance against the NHL’s best team in the regular season. Washington has the most talented roster that anybody could hope to have under the NHL’s current salary cap. On offense are Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Marcus Johansson, TJ Oshie, and Justin Williams.

Then there’s the blue line, which can make or break any team in the playoffs. However, the Capitals are all set there, after adding Kevin Shattenkirk at the deadline to a defense corps that already boasted Matt Niskanen, John Carlson, and Karl Alzner, among others. And even after all that, there’s always defending Vezina Trophy-winner Braden Holtby in net.

Toronto has a group of extremely young and talented forwards, led by Rookie of The Year favorite Auston Matthews. The team is extremely potent offensively and solid in net with Frederik Andersen, but very thin on the blue line. In theory, Washington’s strength on defense and ability to take advantage of Toronto’s weak defense should have spelled doom for Toronto.

However, as we have seen, the Caps have done no such thing. After game three, Toronto leads the series 2-1. So far every game of the series has gone to OT, as the series has been far more competitive than expected.

Even if the Caps find a way to win this series, they have undoubtedly proven that no matter what they do, they just are not be ready for the rigors of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. No matter how well the roster is constructed, they seem to struggle. They struggle whether it is losing to Pittsburgh in a hard-fought series, or being upset in the first round by a team like Montreal or possibly Toronto.
The Washington Capitals will always be a contender. Their star power allows them to be a contender as long as they keep the core they currently have. However, regardless of who is on the ice, I am now convinced that they will never have the level of skill that is necessary to win a Stanley Cup. I hope that Alex Ovechkin one day gets the “Ray Bourque Treatment,” and is traded to a team that can get him the elusive ring he deserves.