The Washington Capitals are providing their team with a once in a lifetime opportunity.
The Washington Capitals are pursuing a Stanley Cup in 2025, much to the surprise of the entire NHL. Not only that, the organization is supporting their captain, Alex Ovechkin, and his efforts to become the league's all-time leading goal scorer. Ovi has pulled within single digits of Wayne Gretzky's record, and it has the entire team rallying behind the shared cause.
According to first-year Capitals forward, Pierre-Luc Dubois, the chance to both compete for a championship and help a teammate make history is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Speaking to RG, he discussed how motivating that is.
"We're kind of in a double chase right now, where we're chasing the team objective and we're chasing the Ovi objective," he said. "To be a part of those two things is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for everybody.”
In his first season with the club, Dubois has been an integral part of both pursuits. In 64 games, he has 16 goals, 38 assists, and 54 points while averaging 17:18 minute of ice time. With 18 games left in the regular season, he appears set to shatter his previous career best of 63 points and could reach the 70-point plateau if he goes on a hot scoring streak.
A huge part of that improvement is his hard-working mentality on the ice. With the puck, he goes hard to the net, shoots often, and is solid at the net-front, Off the puck, Dubois is a dogged forechecker, unafraid of the physical aspects of the game, and loves to agitate his opponents. That dedication to two-way hockey is something he attributes to the leadership and teammates in the locker room.
"I knew there was a lot of talent in this dressing room, I knew that there's good young players coming up, there's good leadership, there's good players that have been here for a long time like Ovi, Johnny, Wilson and Dowd," he said. "So to come here and see this success that we've had, it's hard work, and it's exactly what I thought this organization, this team, was gonna be like.”
The former third-overall pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets has found a new lease on his NHL career in Washington. After a struggling season with the Los Angeles Kings, he's re-found his game and is relishing this once in a lifetime opportunity with the Capitals.
