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How predictive is the Presidents’ Trophy of Stanley Cup playoff success?

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8), from Russia, and right wing Justin Williams (14) celebrate Williams' goal in the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Monday, March 28, 2016, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals clinched the Presidents’ Trophy earlier this week, the honor of the best overall record in the NHL, based on points. Many on the team were understandably underwhelmed by the honor, though, given that it carries no guarantee of postseason success, as the Caps well know. They were hockey’s best regular season team in 2009-10 only to be bounced in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. But how predictive overall is the Presidents’ Trophy for postseason success? Not every great team is built alike, and it turns out that different components of regular season prosperity have correlated in various ways to playoff payoff. We studied how important a prominent goal-scorer, a prominent even-strength goal scorer, a prominent point-getter and a stingy goalie have been when it comes to predicting how well Presidents’ Trophy winners will succeed in the second season. We also looked at overall point total to see if it made any difference just how dominant a team was in relation to the rest of the league. Flip through the slides to the right to see what we discovered. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8), from Russia, and right wing Justin Williams (14) celebrate Williams' goal in the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Monday, March 28, 2016, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8), of Russia, skates with his head down after the Capitals lost to theMontreal Canadiens 2-1 in Game 7 of the NHL hockey playoff series, Wednesday, April 28, 2010, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Johnny Oduya (27), of Sweden, hugs Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford (50) after winning Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals 3-2 against the Boston Bruins, Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Washington Capitals' Braden Holtby in action during an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Wednesday, March 30, 2016, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8), of Russia, celebrates his goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov, left, celebrates his second-period goal with teammates Andre Burakovsky, center, and T.J. Oshie during an NHL hockey game on Monday, Feb. 22, 2016, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Washington Capitals head coach Barry Trotz smiles in the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Friday, March 18, 2016, in Washington. The Capitals won 4-1. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Click to expand. Graphic by Noah Frank. Info courtesy Hockey-Reference.com.
Click to expand. Graphic by Noah Frank. Info courtesy Hockey-Reference.com. All numbers through March 30. Italics indicates strike-shortened season. All seasons listed by year in which Stanley Cup Finals was played.

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