It’s Loffs Watch. Here we are, watching those loffs odds. Are you interested in the Washington Capitals playoff chances? Well, you’re at Loffs Watch, the perfect (and perfectly named) place for you.
The Caps’ shutout win over the fearsome Jets delivered a massive improvement to Washington’s playoff hopes. The Caps are back in the second wild card spot, and not just through an illusion of the schedule.
One point above the Wings and with one game in hand, the Caps are in the bird dog seat, which is I don’t know what that is, but it feels right. Caps-Wings is key matchup right now, and it’s going to come to a head tomorrow night at 7 PM, when the Wings come to town. A win by Detroit would throw Washington’s playoff percentage down 15 points, and a win by Washington would bring them close to 80 percent.
It’s weird. Before the trade deadline, Brian MacLellan said he wanted the team to send him a message on whether or not they’re competing this season. Then the team played badly. Now here we are, a few weeks after the Caps were in the low teens of likelihood to make the playoffs, and they’ve just gone 7-3-0 against some of the best teams in the NHL. (They’ve been even in five-on-five goal differential and have owned 46 percent of five-on-five shot attempts, ranking 30th in the league. The winning has been powered by special teams.)
Here’s what the models think.
| Source | % |
|---|---|
| HockeyViz | 66 |
| Moneypuck | 58 |
| The Athletic | – |
(The Athletic’s model was not updated before press time.)
Tonight will be a quiet night for Loffs Watch. Two games, both in the west, but then things heat up. The Caps have a critical week: Detroit, Toronto, and Boston. If the Caps can keep their winning ways, they’re going to be past the worst of their difficult schedule, and they would only have to hold some wild-card challengers at bay.
Loffs Watch Theme Song of the Day
See you next time on Loffs Watch.
