The Washington Capitals had so much fun winning the Stanley Cup for the first time last season, they'd love to do it again this season.

They'll have the opportunity after clinching a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 3-2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Thursday.
The Capitals (46-24-8) have qualified for the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season, reaching 100 points each time. Next on the agenda is clinching first in the Metropolitan Division for the fourth straight season; they lead the New York Islanders by three points with four games to play.
Then they'll turn their attention to trying to match the rival Pittsburgh Penguins' achievement in 2016 and 2017 by repeating as Cup champions.
Here are five reasons why the Capitals clinched a playoff berth:

1. Ovechkin showing the way

The forward and captain has proven wrong those who thought he might not be as motivated after finally winning the Cup. He reported for training camp in better shape than last season and has been one of Washington's most consistent players.
With 49 goals, he's in position to reach 50 for the eighth time in his 14-season NHL career. Only Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy had more 50-goal seasons with nine each before retiring.
Ovechkin (33 years, 201 days on the final day of this season) would be the third oldest player in NHL history with a 50-goal season (based on age at the end of the season). Johnny Bucyk (35 years, 327 days) scored 51 goals with the Boston Bruins in 1970-71 and Jaromir Jagr (34 years, 62 days) scored 54 with the New York Rangers in 2005-06.
Ovechkin also has played well defensively, maintaining his improvement in that area from the playoffs last season. He has 317 shots on goal, tied for second in the NHL with Dallas Stars center Tyler Seguin (behind Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon, who has 344) and leads Washington with 202 hits.
"He sets a tone for our team for sure," coach Todd Reirden said. "Especially early in games when he's able to establish a physical element to his game and get in there on the forecheck and be able to generate a few opportunities, usually he converts at a high rate. We're fortunate to have him on our team and he's really just grown so much as a leader."

2. Continuity

Washington was set up to have success again this season because its roster remained mostly intact. Of the 20 players who dressed for their clinching 4-3 win against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 5 of the Cup Final, only fourth-line center Jay Beagle (signed with the Vancouver Canucks as an unrestricted free agent on July 1) and backup goaltender Philipp Grubauer (traded to the Avalanche on June 22) did not return.
The Capitals made some helpful tweaks before the NHL Trade Deadline by acquiring forward Carl Hagelin from the Los Angeles Kings on Feb. 21 and defenseman Nick Jensen from the Detroit Red Wings on Feb. 22, but this is essentially the same team that won last season and that familiarity has been an asset.

3. Depth scoring

The Capitals have six players with at least 20 goals (tied with Toronto Maple Leafs for most in the NHL) -- Ovechkin (49), forwards T.J. Oshie (23), Jakub Vrana (23), Tom Wilson (22), Brett Connolly (22) and center Evgeny Kuznetsov (20) -- and center Nicklas Backstrom has 19. Last season, they had three 20-goal scorers - Ovechkin (49), Kuznetsov (27) and Backstrom (21).
Vrana, Wilson and Connolly each reached 20 goals for the first time in his NHL career; Wilson did it despite being suspended the first 16 games of the season.
Though there have been times when some of the Washington forwards have gone cold, others were there to pick up the slack.
"That timing, if you can have different guys step up when maybe those [other] guys are not finding the back of the net when they're used to, that definitely keeps everything moving forward," Connolly said. "I think if you can help out in any way and collect wins when maybe your go-to guys are not scoring, you can keep that momentum going throughout the season in terms of winning games."

4. Refocusing after All-Star Game

The Capitals were 24-10-3 through their first 37 games but went 3-7-3 in their next 13, including a seven-game losing streak (0-5-2) leading up to the break for the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Game. After giving up at least six goals in four of the losses during that seven-game skid, they recommitted to their defensive structure and have gone 19-7-2 since the break.
The Capitals have allowed 3.03 goals per game (18th in the NHL) and are tied for 16th with the New Jersey Devils in allowing 31.6 shots per game, but have a 2.65 GAA and are averaging 30.4 shots against per game since the break.
Goalie Braden Holtby is 13-7-2 with a 2.46 GAA and .918 save percentage and backup Pheonix Copley is 6-0-0 with a 2.61 GAA and a .913 save percentage during that span.
"Really since the All-Star break, we've started to turn the corner and started to play a complete game," Holtby said. "It's not perfect yet, it's not where we want to be, but every game is improving in areas and we're really coming together."

5. Reirden's influence

Reirden has done some learning on the job in his first season as the Capitals coach and helped Washington navigate the ups and downs defending champions encounter with every opponent using them as a measuring stick. Reirden, promoted to replace Barry Trotz, who resigned and was hired by the New York Islanders, knew the players well after four seasons as an assistant and associate, but there's a difference between being the well-liked assistant and being the one with the final say on the lineup and on the bench during games.
Discipline has been an issue at times; the Capitals have taken 274 minor penalties, third-most in the NHL. But they've improved a little in that area since Feb. 1, dropping from averaging 3.7 minors per game to 3.18.