Why to Bet on the Washington Capitals to Win the Stanley Cup

The Washington Capitals have been tagged as playoff chokers for years, and up until the 2018 NHL postseason, it was a tough stage to argue against. But after Alex Ovechkin and company discharged the Tampa Bay Lightning in critical fashion in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final to advance to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup final in just two decades, the Caps are knocking on Lord Stanley’s door.
It will not be easy, of course. The Capitals draw a tough matchup against the extremely surprising Vegas Golden Knights, a team that comes with a roster comprised of castoffs from other NHL teams. The Knights’ red-hot play this year is nothing short of unprecedented, and they’ve gone down as the most successful expansion team in NHL history if they win the Stanley Cup or not. Washington opened as +115 pre-series underdogs to win the first championship in team history.
Thus, do the Capitals really have what it takes to knock off the juggernaut Golden Knights and deliver a long-awaited title back to D.C.? I feel the answer is yes. Here are three reasons why you need to wager on Washington to win the 2018 Stanley Cup:At 32, Alex Ovechkin was widely regarded as the top player in the league without a Stanley Cup ring (or perhaps a look in the final) before the playoffs began, but the Washington captain has delivered and then some for its Caps throughout the last month and a half. The Russian sniper, that has gathered every individual accolade possible during his Hall of Fame NHL profession, set the speed for the Capitals from Tampa Bay in Game 7 of the East closing by hammering a one-timer past goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy 62 minutes into the competition for what would become the game-winning goal.
When the Capitals had a rise, Ovechkin has been there to answer the telephone when it counts the most. The Golden Knights possess a litany of all team-first players who clearly play quite well with one another, however they don’t have a genuine superstar. The Caps do, and he wears No. 8. Vegas netminder Marc-Andre Fleury is playing from his mind right now, but if anyone can split against him, it is Ovie.
Underdog mentality
The Philadelphia Eagles demonstrated that being tabbed as underdogs isn’t such a terrible thing from the NFL playoffs en route to a 41-33 triumph over the heavily favored New England Patriots in Super Bowl 52, and the Capitals are in a similar boat right now. The Caps faced some early adversity after going down 2-0 to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the opening round before fighting back to win the sequence. Washington discovered itself as an underdog from the archrival Pittsburgh Penguins at the second round before once more being suppressed vs the Lightning at the Eastern Conference final.
Eagles centre Jason Kelce said”an underdog is a hungry dog” within an epic speech in Philly’s Super Bowl parade in February, and there is no bigger bunch of starving dogs on the ice compared to a Capitals team that has been always doubted and written off in the playoffs through the years. This year is different, and now that they’ve finally made it into the tournament, the monkey is off their back. I wouldn’t expect them to take their collective foot off the gas pedal today.
Road warriors
Winning on the road is not a simple feat in the NHL playoffs, but the Capitals have mastered the art in spades going in the Cup final. Through the first three rounds, Washington went a combined 8-2 SU from home. In that period, the Caps potted 36 goals while letting in only 20. Amounts that solid on the road are tough to ignore.
The Caps’ penchant for producing from home is particularly important because of the Golden Knights’ dominance in Sin City. Vegas put together a sparkling 29-10-2 SU home record in the regular year and can be 6-1 SU in its own barn at the playoffs. The”Vegas flu” was plaguing opposing teams at T-Mobile Arena all year long, but I think the Capitals will be immune to it.
Despite these persuasive points, Gilles Gallant disagrees and thinks the Vegas Golden Knights will win the Stanley Cup. You can check out his debate here.