The Washington Capitals secured a point on Saturday night after their 3-2 shootout loss to the Boston Bruins and moved into third place in the Metropolitan Division, leapfrogging the Philadelphia Flyers in the standings due to a tiebreaker.
The Flyers got blown out by the Chicago Blackhawks 5-1 in regulation, giving both teams 82 standings points at the day’s end. The Capitals own the first tiebreaker over the Flyers, points percentage, so they jump over their division rivals.
This is the first time the Capitals have been third in the Metro since back on December 10 when they beat the Blackhawks on the road 4-2. They would then lose six of nine games to finish out December and start their sink down the standings that most thought would sink their contention for a playoff spot for good.
The Capitals still hold two games in hand over Philadelphia and have nine games remaining on the season. They also remain two points ahead of the Detroit Red Wings for the East’s second wild card spot. They’ll face off with the Red Wings once more on April 9 and the Flyers once more on April 16. The latter game is the team’s final game of the regular season.
The Capitals are now technically higher up in the Eastern Conference standings than the red-hot Tampa Bay Lightning who sit in the first wild card playoff position and have amassed seven more standings points than the Caps in just as many games played. Third in the Metro will be the highest the Capitals can finish this season as the Carolina Hurricanes sit second and have already eclipsed 100 points this year.
With the Capitals now in a strong position to make the postseason this spring, they will very likely become the playoff team with the worst goal differential since the 2004-05 lockout. After the 3-2 loss to the Bruins, they sit at -31.
The Capitals (-31 goal differential) are now 3rd in the Metro. pic.twitter.com/nJ0tSrQgbD
— Mike Kelly (@MikeKellyNHL) March 31, 2024
Only four of their last nine games come against teams currently slated to make the playoffs. The Flyers have an even more generous April run with just the New York Rangers and Capitals as their stiffest direct competition.
As things currently stand, the Capitals would be slated to play the Hurricanes in a first-round playoff matchup. The same Hurricanes that signed Dmitry Orlov to a contract this past offseason and acquired Evgeny Kuznetsov from the Capitals at this month’s trade deadline.
The Capitals are 2-1 against Carolina this season and have one more game against the Canes this season coming up next Friday in Raleigh.
