For the Washington Capitals, the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs couldn't come soon enough.
Washington was the first team to clinch a playoff spot this year following a red-hot start and impressive overall record, but the team didn't end the regular season on a high note, dropping eight of the last 12 games.
Over that span, the Capitals were outscored 51-31 and had the lowest 5-on-5 goals-for percentage across the NHL. All the while, they lost key players Aliaksei Protas and Logan Thompson to injury, and behind the scenes, have been dealing with other bumps, bruises and illnesses while also balancing the lineup to get rest for Alex Ovechkin and John Carlson, among others.
In the final game of the season, a 5-2 defeat at the hand of the Pittsburgh Penguins, coach Spencer Carbery himself refused to take a lot from that game, explaining that his group was simply just trying to get to the finish line.
"We're just getting through the game, to be honest with you," Carbery said postgame. "Just moving forward and getting ready for Montreal."
For Pierre-Luc Dubois, who hasn't been in a situation quite like this before in his still-young career, he noted that Washington would have liked to perform better in the final stretch, but the playoffs are an entirely different beast the team will be ready for.
"I’ve never been in a position like this where you clinch the Metro, you clinch the Eastern Conference, you’re playing against teams that are playing for their season… we can sit around and say, 'Let’s pretend it's a playoff game' but the reality is, it's not. We're in two different situations," Dubois said. "Would we have liked to have played better? Sure. But now the playoffs are starting, that's the exciting part. We've played all season for this."
That said, Washington knows that there's quite a bit to clean up going into the first-round series against the Montreal Canadiens, which kicks off on Monday in D.C., and the group plans to be ready.
For Ovechkin and the offense, there needs to be more contributions at 5-on-5 and more consistency through 60 minutes. Then, on the other side of the ice, the play needs to step up in front of Charlie Lindgren or whichever netminder ends up being healthy and the Game 1 starter.
As for the goalies, .900 games have been hard to come by of late, so improving and finding consistency in the crease will be key, too.
The Capitals officially enter the postseason on Saturday when they take the ice for a practice at Capital One Arena, and they're ready to show they can be legitimate contenders this time around.
"We've been waiting for playoffs now for about a month," Connor McMichael pointed out. "I think all the guys are ready to go."
