Photo Credit: Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports
Not only have the Washington Capitals clinched the playoffs and first place in the Eastern Conference, but the team also clinched the Presidents’ Trophy. While the winning of this trophy often calls for some team celebration, head coach Barry Trotz confirmed that the Capitals won’t be celebrating anything yet saying, “There’s not going to be a champagne party or anything like that. There’s a sense of fulfillment that we said we were going to do some things and we accomplished them so far and we’ve still got some things to accomplish. The season’s not over because we wrapped this up.”
The Capitals currently stand in first place in the Eastern Conference with 113 points. They have clinched the first place spot and home-ice advantage for the playoffs, and have now brought home the Presidents’ Trophy. Washington has continued its trend this season of being an unstoppable force. The Caps want the Stanley Cup, and that is exactly why the team won’t pause to celebrate any of their achievements yet, despite how much they deserve to do so.
The last time the Caps won the Presidents’ Trophy was the 2009-10 season, that same year they were champions of the Metropolitan Division. They were unable to bring home the Stanley Cup that year. The last time the team won their conference before that was in the 1997-98 season, making it a long while since they’ve grabbed that title.
All Locked Up. 🔒 #CapsClinch #PresidentsTrophy #RockTheRed pic.twitter.com/nqOK9cJCnd
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 29, 2016
In fact, the Capitals have never won a Stanley Cup, which is what is making this season’s success that much more exciting. The Capitals are going for all the titles they can get and they have already checked any achievements off of their list this season. Next stop? The Playoffs.
The Capitals’ current matchup for the first round of the playoffs will be against current second Wild Card team, the Philadelphia Flyers. The Caps have had two regulation and one overtime win against the Flyers in their three meeting so far this season; the next time the two teams meet will be on March 30th. Though the current matchup faces the Caps with the Flyers, the current Eastern Conference wildcard race has teams back-to-back, and it is likely that the teams will still be battling for the position until their final game this season. The Caps have seven games remaining before they finish off the season, but the team won’t play safe until they’ve reached their goal.
[…] eight teams slotted for the postseason. The top team in the league, the Washington Capitals, have clinched the Presidents’ Trophy, giving them home ice advantage against any matchup they face. Let’s take a look at what […]