Ex-NHL HC Bruce Boudreau names $2.15 billion franchise as Stanley Cup favorite

Former NHL coach Bruce Boudreau believes the Washington Capitals are strong Stanley Cup contenders. Speaking on the 1st Up podcast, he praised their consistency, depth, and strong team play. He noted that Washington plays the same way every night and rarely has bad games.

"Oh, to me, absolutely. I look at every other team. You know, Washington plays the same way every night, same way. They don't have bad games." Boudreau said.

Boudreau highlighted the $2.15 billion (per Forbes) franchise's balanced lineup, with four solid lines and six reliable defensemen. He also praised their two goalies, who rarely allow weak goals.

"They have four lines that can play. They have six defenses that can play," Boudreau said. "They have two goalies that are really good, that don't give up bad goals. So I mean, and they just continually come at you. You know, if we all watched the Four Nations and the cats play like that. They're in your face all night long.

Notably, he also compared his former team's aggressive playing style to the teams in the Four Nations tournament. He pointed out improvements in players like Aliaksei Protas and Connor McMichael, who have increased their goal production.

"They're big, they're strong. They got a lot of no names. For example, Protas got three goals last year. Now he's got 26 or something like this. McMichaels got 20 goals. Dylan Strong's averaging a point a game will be I mean, even their fourth line, they got two guys on the fourth line with 10 plus goals. I mean, they come at you every way, and they're big and they are physical." Boudreau said.

The Capitals are leading the Metropolitan Division with a 38-11-8 record. They score 3.70 goals per game, ranking third in the NHL. Their defense allows only 2.51 goals per game. Alex Ovechkin leads with 29 goals, while Dylan Strome has 40 assists.

Capitals defeated the Oilers 5-3 in their second back-to-back NHL games

The Washington Capitals beat the Edmonton Oilers 7-3 for their second big win after the Four Nations break. Earlier they defeated Pittsburgh Penguins 8-3, and now have a 15-6 goal difference in their last two NHL games.

Leon Draisaitl scored first for Edmonton on a power play. Tom Wilson tied it with a rebound goal. Jakob Chychrun put Washington ahead with a power-play goal. Alex Ovechkin scored twice to make it 4-1 before Connor McMichael added another.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Dylan Strome traded goals before Jeff Skinner made it 6-3. Ovechkin completed his hat trick with an empty-net goal, reaching 882 NHL career goals.