Still not sure this team makes enough plays at the pace that's going to be required but you've got to like Holtby's form coming into this one and how their team defense improved. Part of that was just how top-heavy CBJ was with fatigue making it easier to defend them but the Caps didn't make it overly easy. Stephenson turning into a fast, composed, versatile player is a real bonus for the top nine. Hopefully they're able to add Burakovsky's speed at some point. They're likely to need him just to be able to better roll four lines given that it seems like neither Vrana nor Chiasson will play much. Trotz also needs to figure out how to play Djoos a bit more just to get his playmaking ability out there at times.
They're going to need to be way better to prevail obviously. The dead zones of passive play aren't going to cut it.
Yes, Holtby (especially) and Stephenson are big pluses right now. Also DSP has that Ward playoff vibe going. And the defense is showing some good signs... man, it would've been cool to see one of Orlov, Schmidt, Djoos on the ice at all times...
Pretty amazing how Stephenson has fit in with Backstrom so far, after so many other wingers (including fellow Swedes!) have not really meshed, and Stephenson himself couldn't really stand out in limited bottom-6 time.
Definitely opens up more options to field a deep bottom-6, too. But tbh, one can see Trotz riding Eller, Beagle and DSP now -- and it's hard to see how Bura or Vrana might fit there. Again, what's the identity?
I don't think it will be enough for Caps' bottom-6 to be solid -- they need to be able to put the Pens on their heels somehow.
These Caps don't quite look like championship material, but they seem to be relatively close to dialing in their "puncher's chance" mode.