How does it even feel to be alone atop the NHL standings? No other team would ever know the feeling – other than the Washington Capitals, who have now surged to their fourth straight win and have now tallied a total of 67 points as of the time of writing to lead the league overall. While it may not last long, it is sure to be a promising feeling now more than ever.

With a 31-10-5 record, the Capitals have now exalted themselves to the top of the NHL – and have a seven-point lead over the rest of the Eastern Conference. At this point, the Capitals are definitely expecting to deliver a promising campaign that will see them return to the big stage now more than ever, and it does seem that their confidence is off the charts – showing how it has been a massive campaign for them and what it has been really been able to deliver for their run.

The past few years haven’t been exactly kind for the Capitals, which has resulted to four first-round exits and a lone miss in the postseason. This says a lot about how Washington is in dire need of a redemption campaign. With the squad finally returning to full health heading into the final stretch of the season, it does seem that the odds may well be starting to favor them now more than ever.

Proud Rise to the Top

It is always a test for the Capitals. Bringing in the action against the best players in the world is always a test of their commitment and dedication to the game, and so far, they have answered the call well on any given night, showing how well they can travel from one place to another and even deliver a promising finish in their games.

“We’ve had confidence all year and just try to stay even-keel,” defenseman Jakob Chychrun said. “We weren’t playing our best, but we just try to stick with it and grind out a few wins, get a few points here and there. Saturday, we had a bit of a better game, and this group’s just resilient and sticks together and tries to get out of a little bit of a - I don’t want to say slump because we’re finding ways to get points, but we’re not playing our best.”

So far, the defense has been clicking well for the team. Since starting 21-6-2 with an average of 3.97 goals for second best in the NHL, the goals haven’t come easy for the team after that 29-game stretch, with the next 17 games only having 2.88 per game, which was 17th overall.

There are a lot of expectations in almost every victory there’s to be had for Washington, but it has been all work for the team so far, and they are not slowing down indeed.

Playing and Executing

While the rest of the games for the team just shows how far the team has come and gone, it does seem that there’s still a lot of missing things for the Capitals, such as Alex Ovechkin being held without another goal. The chase for the NHL’s All-Time Goals scored is at 874, putting him just 21 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record of 894.

Still, Washington has shown that they have the improved depth and controlled play from start to finish. The team is coming into the games a group playing for one another, and their work ethic is a massive proof of that as they continue to bring more wins into their tally.