After scuffling against harder competition in February, the Capitals have quietly won eight of their last nine games and set themselves up for a nice milestone.

Wednesday night against the Rangers, the Capitals, who lead the Metropolitan Division by five points over the Pittsburgh Penguins, can clinch a playoff spot with a win and some help from the Philadelphia Flyers.

The @MapleLeafs and @Capitals can join the postseason party in the Eastern Conference tonight. #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/hU3wFrBfMj

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 28, 2018

Per the NHL’s PR, the Capitals can clinch a playoff berth (ew, gross) if they defeat New York in any fashion and the Flyers lose to the Colorado Avalanche in any fashion. The Capitals can also clinch a spot if they get a loser overtime point against the Rangers and the Flyers lose to Avs in regulation.

The Capitals would join the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Boston Bruins as the only teams in the Eastern Conference who have clinched.

After a year of dramatic overperformance, Wsh has improved to break-even…just in time for the playoffs. pic.twitter.com/MEiXfriZfH

— Sean Tierney (@ChartingHockey) March 26, 2018