Photo: Patrick Smith

The Caps have a grand total of six games left in the season. Wednesday night, they were edged by a likely playoff opponent in the shootout. We’re not going to dwell on this because the Flyers are dumb and so are skillz competitions.

Tonight, the Caps play the Colorado Avalanche. The Avs are five points out of the West’s final Wild Card spot. Coincidentally, they are appallingly atrocious in the realm of puck possession. Like, worst team in the league levels of bad. No, that is not an April Fool’s joke.

This is a team clinging to the dream of a playoff position, unlike most of the Caps’ remaining opponents in the regular season. After being held to a single goal against the Flyers, tonight would be a choice night to generate some offense. But the Caps will try to do so without one of their best offensive players.

Nicklas Backstrom’s Injured

After absorbing several big hits Wednesday night against the Flyers, Nicklas Backstrom will sit out with an upper-body injury.

hockey fan logic back at it again- Giroux apparently deserved this bc of this (how about nobody deserves any of it?) pic.twitter.com/hspWBCc8cx

— Stephanie (@myregularface) March 31, 2016

The banged-up Backstrom took the morning skate in Denver today, but did not speak to reporters. With Backstrom out, Marcus Johansson will center the top line.

Projected Lineup

Ovechkin – Johansson – Oshie
Burakovsky – Kuznetsov – Williams
Chimera – Beagle – Wilson
Winnik – Richards – Galiev

Schmidt – Carlson
Alzner – Niskanen
Orpik – Orlov

Holtby

 Storylines

• Braden Holtby is really, really close to breaking another record.
• Here’s why he should be in the running for MVP.
• The million-dollar question: how will the Caps fare in the playoffs?
• Nicklas Backstrom’s defensive play is no longer the best-kept secret in the league. But is he worthy of the Selke?
• Analyzing what a Caps-Flyers series could look like, based on Wednesday night’s game.
• Hold onto your hats because the Flyers might have decent odds of beating the Caps.
• Jason Chimera got fined a lot of money for butt-ending some guy whose last name I can’t pronounce.
• Fighting was a hot topic in the declassified NHL emails, and it’s declining rapidly.
• Friendly reminder that Alex Ovechkin is not fat, but he is apparently a sartorial wizard.
• He’s also featured on this galactically great sweatshirt.
• Geography aficionado Tom Wilson has some thoughts on the not-so-rocky Rocky Mountains.
• Pass the tissues because Brooks Laich finally snapped his goalless streak.

Flip Your Calendars: It’s April 1st!

D’aww 😍pic.twitter.com/4GnlzrcNW4

— Hana Imiolczyk (@Hana15x) March 31, 2016

With a calendar like this, you’ll wish it was April every month.

Here’s Taylor Swift Ruining Something Else

Based on true events. #TAYLORvsTREADMILL @applemusic @Drake @1Futurehttps://t.co/ryUY3Yz7Prhttps://t.co/1eIHjoVIFU

— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) April 1, 2016

Personally, I can’t stand Taylor Swift because she seems incredibly contrived. More importantly, I hate that Drake’s music is being desecrated in the name of Apple Music via T-Swift and her treadmill.

Word of the Day

The English language is a powerful and sometimes confusing tool. Today, take some time to learn the latest additions to the Oxford English Dictionary. My personal favorites include:

• Autocorreck (yes, with a k)
• Instayam
• Leo
• Fanishment

Full RMNB Coverage of Caps at Avs