I have been a hockey fan for about two decades (aka my whole life). My dad grew up a hockey fan and we have watched games together for as long as I can remember. From elementary to high school, my classmates would want me on their gym class hockey team, solely for my knowledge of hockey. My dad and I watch the local Washington Capitals whenever I am home during the hockey season and we went to a game together over my Winter Break. In my lifetime, the Capitals have only reached the Stanley Cup finals once and that was back in the 1997-1998 season. Some years, the Caps have gotten pretty far but often end up choking and ending their season early in the playoffs. This year might be different.

The Caps have had a pretty incredible season with the addition of stellar players like Olympian TJ Oshie. Returning star players, such as Alexander Ovechkin and Braden Holtby, have been key to winning games. Ovechkin broke a few records already this season! Ovi (as fans and teammates refer to him) scored 500 goals in just 801 games, and being one of the fastest players to ever do so. He also became the highest-scoring Russian hockey player, beating Sergei Federov’s previous record in less games than it took Federov to set the record. Ovechkin has the potential to beat Wayne Gretzky’s record for the most goals ever (894 goals). Currently, Ovechkin is league leader with goals (38) and goaltender Braden Holtby is league leader in games won (37).

Holtby has been a fantastic addition to the Caps roster since 2010. The last goalie the Caps had with this much hype about him was now-retired Olie Kolzig. His Goals Against Average is currently 2.17 and he has had over 1200 saves during this season alone. Holtby aka “HoltBeast” has a record of 37 wins and 6 losses so far this season. The next closest goalie has more than twice as many losses. He started 23 games in a row earlier this season, something pretty uncommon for goalies.

As a whole, the Capitals are leading the whole National Hockey League in points, beating the next closest team (Chicago Blackhawks) by nine points. The Caps are leading their division by 18 points and their conference by 15. At least one Caps player is in the top 10 for each statistic, except for shutouts. Evgeny Kuznetsov is the top five for points, top three for assists, and is number one for plus-minus points. Caps player Nicklas Backstrom is also in the top 10 for points and assists.

When the Caps work together, they are very dominatte, but when they hit a bump, they lose their momentum. Luckily, they have been on fire for the most part this season. Fingers crossed, the Caps keep this winning season up. Currently, their record is 43-10-4 (wins-losses-ties), after their win against the New Jersey Devils. Maybe this will finally be the year the Washington Capitals win their first Stanley Cup!