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This story is part of ESPN The Magazines Oct. 31 NBA Preview Issue. Subscribe today!Washington CapitalsOverall: 47 Title track: 96 Ownership: 19 Coaching: 21 Players: 43 Fan relations: 19 Affordability: 89 Stadium experience: 54 Bang for the buck: 50 Change from last year: +8Despite another spirit-crushing playoff defeat by the rival Penguins, Year 2 of the Barry Trotz era went even better than the first. The Capitals 120 points landed them the Presidents Trophy as the NHLs regular-season champion, and they might have made a real run at the Stanley Cup had they not been drawn, because of the leagues convoluted playoff format, against red-hot Pittsburgh in the second round. Still, Washingtons continued improvement didnt go unnoticed in our standings.Whats goodTheir team lost to the Pens for the eighth time in nine postseason tries, but long-suffering Caps fans remain fully behind Trotz, whose coaching rank remains near the top 20 in sports. Ownership continues to climb (now at 19th, seven places over 2015) thanks to the shrewd stewardship of Ted Leonsis, whos as engaged and approachable as any check-signer in hockey. Combined with the thrilling on-ice product -- captain Alex Ovechkin led the league in goals for the fourth straight year, while Braden Holtby won the Vezina Trophy as the NHLs top goalie -- Leonsis attention to detail helped fan relations (No. 19) enjoy a two-spot bump.Whats badThe closest the Caps got to a Cup in their 40 seasons was a runner-up finish in 1998, when they got swept by the Red Wings in the finals. Perhaps the decades of postseason disappointments have taken a toll. Whatever the reason, fans in the District are surprisingly fatalistic about their future, with a title track that seems absurdly low (96th!) for a team that finally looked like a legitimate contender last year. Meantime, it still isnt cheap to attend games at the Verizon Center -- the Caps rank just 89th in affordability. Among the 23 U.S.-based NHL teams, only five teams have a higher average ticket price ($71).Whats newAt least Caps fans get value for their money. Ovechkin is the most exciting player in the game. Trotzs up-tempo ethos creates offense. (Washington had a plus-59 goal differential last season, 17 more than the next highest-scoring team.) They lost a league-low eight games last season. And Holtbys otherworldly shot-stopping helped Ovi and Co. allow fewer than 200 goals against, one of three NHL teams to accomplish the feat. Its little surprise, then, that bang for the buck shot up 34 spots from a year ago.Next: New Jersey Devils?| Full rankings Nike Shoes Clearance Sale . -- Ty Montgomery had 290 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, and fifth-ranked Stanford held on to beat No. Authentic Wholesale Nike Shoes . -- New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis is retiring after a 16-year career to become the goalie coach for the Los Angeles Galaxy. http://www.nikeshoesclearance.com/ . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. Wholesale Nike Shoes China . Bradwell was scheduled to become a free agent Tuesday. Born and raised in Toronto, Bradwell is entering his sixth CFL season, with all six played for his hometown Argonauts. Nike Shoes Clearance .H. -- Matt Kenseth made it 2 for 2 in the Chase, holding off teammate Kyle Busch to win Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Memorial Gym has seen a lot of 3-pointers during the last 30 years, but never a night like this.Vanderbilt broke a school record with 19 3-pointers and combined with High Point for a school record 31 3-pointers in a 90-63 win over the Panthers on Tuesday night.Vanderbilt (5-4) made 19 of 32 from 3-point range. The old school record was 18 3-pointers in an 88-63 win at Tennessee in 2005.High Point (4-5) went 12 for 15 from beyond the arc.I thought it was a tremendous shooting display by both teams and I dont know if thats because both teams were just really, really good shooters or there were a lot of breakdowns on the defensive end tonight, Commodores coach Bryce Drew said. I think a lot of credit tonight with them making shots was the unselfishness. We had 23 assists on 29 field goals.Vanderbilt, the SECs top 3-point shooting team, has made a 3-pointer in all 973 of its games since the inception of the 3-point line in 1986. Only UNLV has a longer streak in Division I basketball.Matthew Fisher-Davis led the Commodores 19 points, including four 3-pointers.Riley LaChance tied the record with a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 7 minutes left and Joe Toyes 3-pointer from the corner with 1:26 left broke the record. LaChance scored 14 points, including four 3s.I think guys were doing a good job of getting other guys open, LaChance said. We had a lot of good looks from 3.Vanderbilts Jeff Roberson scored 14 points, including four 3-pointers, Payton Willis added 13 points with three 3-pointers and Nolan Cressler scored 10.We werent aware of any of the records, Cressler said. We were just kind of out there playing. Me and Riley were on the bench and the announcer said something about new Vanderbilt record, 19 3s or whatever. So its kind of cool to be in the record books.LaChance entered the game wiith the Southeastern Conferences second-leading 3-point percentage (67.dddddddddddd).Theyre a pretty elite 3-point shooting team, Panthers coach Scott Cherry said. They move the ball around and stretch the floor. At one point they had five guards out there and we dont have good length on the perimeter.Miles Bowman Jr. led High Point with 22 points, Jamal Wright had 12 and Anthony Lindauer added 11.Bowman scored High Points first 10 points, leading the Panthers to a 13-6 advantage early in the first half. Vanderbilt answered with an 11-0 run to take a 17-13 lead.Just seeing the ball go through the hoop like that constantly and consistently doesnt give you much of a chance to rebound, Bowman said. And you dont get a chance to run the ball in transition. It was kind of crazy.The Commodores made 12 of their first 19 shots from 3-point range to take a 50-42 halftime lead. High Point was nearly as good, hitting eight of its first nine.Vanderbilt improved to 13-0 against the Big South Conference.BIG PICTUREHigh Point: The Panthers 3-point shooters were almost as productive as the Commodores, but Vanderbilt pulled away in the second half.Vanderbilt: The Commodores 3-point shooting is as good as it gets, but theyre still searching for consistency in their overall game.PANTHER DROUGHTHigh Point went over 13 minutes without a basket in the second half, turning an 11-point deficit into a 30-poiint gap. Vanderbilt scored 33 points off turnovers in the game. Thats been the story of our season, Cherry said. Dead spots like that. We go stretches without scoring.UP NEXTHigh Point hosts Ferrum on Sunday to start a two-game home stand.Vanderbilt visits Middle Tennessee on Thursday before a nine-day break. ' ' '