With the eliminations on Friday, the list of the Washington Capitals’ possible opponents for the first round of the playoffs has dwindled. Sunday’s round-robin game against the Boston Bruins will decide if the Caps will face the Carolina Hurricanes or New York Islanders.

If the Capitals beat the Bruins on Sunday, they will face the Islanders in the first round.

If the Capitals lose to the Bruins on Sunday, they will face the Hurricanes in the first round.

I know that’s complicated and we’ve all got pandemic-related smoothbrains, so here that is in a flowchart:

So, uh, who do we want? Personally, I think it’s obvious.

I wanna hydrate myself on the tears of barold trotz

— Peter Hassett (@peterhassett) August 7, 2020

We do not yet know when the Caps-Bruins game will be, but at least it will have stakes. For once.