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With just the postseason a little bit over two weeks away, the Washington Capitals are going to hear the playoff demon talks once again. It is like a dark cloud hanging over their heads and it feels like an ongoing storm that won't just go away. The storm is going to come into effect once the regular season is over and the Washington Capitals are going to be battle-tested out of the gate.
They won't have to worry about the pressure of winning the Presidents' Trophy. At least that dark cloud will be gone from them. The dark cloud that won't go away for the Washington Capitals is their lack of success in the playoffs. If the Capitals are going to get to the promised land, they are going to have to carry a different mindset than in years past.
The mindset won't be easy because Washington isn't the same team they have been the past couple of seasons, despite leading the Metropolitan Division by three points right now over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
As of right now, the Washington Capitals would face the Philadelphia Flyers in the first-round of the playoffs. The Flyers won the season series 3-1 against the Capitals. Philadelphia is a much better team in the 2017-2018 season than they were in the 2015-2016 season when they met each other in the first round. Washington isn't as strong as they were two years ago.
Washington could also meet the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round. Even though Washington won the season series 3-1 against them, Columbus has won the last 10 out of 11 games. Columbus has been better offensively and they have Sergei Bobrovsky between the pipes. Bobrovsky would be happy to face a different team in the first-round other than the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Capitals could also meet the New Jersey Devils in the first round. Washington currently has beaten New Jersey two-out-of-three times this season, but they have one final meeting on April 7 in Washington. The Devils are riding a hot goalie right now in Keith Kinkaid and they love to clog the neutral zone.
New Jersey will have Taylor Hall and Nico Hischier experience the postseason for the first time and they will take their game to another level. Despite not being in the playoffs since 2011-2012, they have some players that have been in the postseason before.
Washington will not have an easy matchup come playoff time. If some people pick them to lose in the first-round, maybe it will light a fire under their rear end and maybe it will finally wake up the playoff demons.
If Washington gets past the first-round again and they most likely will, they will most likely face the Pittsburgh Penguins again and it won't be easy. If Washington gets past that, they will have to face either the Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, or the Tampa Bay Lightning in the conference finals.
If they get past that, Washington would probably face a team like the Nashville Predators, Winnipeg Jets, or the San Jose Sharks in the Stanley Cup Finals.
