Iiiiiiiit’s Loffs Watch. And boy howdy, do we have an interesting one for you today.
The Washington Capitals got blown out by the vaunted Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday, and in this every-game-matters situation, it hurt. The Caps’ playoff chances dropped by almost 15 percentage points. Compounded with unfavorable outcomes with the Islanders, who beat the Hawks, and the still-alive-I-guess Penguins, who beat the Devils, it was a real bad night for Washington.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s consult the standings.
The Capitals are still down in the second wild-card spot by point total, but they still have a narrow edge on the Flyers in points percentage. But now the Islanders aren’t far behind either. The Isles haven’t played terribly lately, but they’ve had crummy goaltending (so too have the Caps if you think about it). If they can catch a favorable wind, they could challege the Caps.
Regarding the other wild-card spot, I cannot see it going to anyone other than the Tampa Bay Lightning. They trail the Leafs by six points and they lead the Caps by seven. Let’s consider that a done deal.
Model time.
| Source | % |
|---|---|
| HockeyViz | 58 |
| Moneypuck | 55 |
| The Athletic | 49 |
A precarious drop across the board, almost 15 percentage points.
Wednesday night will be a quiet night for Loffs Watch. Only one game could affect the Caps – Devils-Rangers – and it only barely. Instead, let’s spend the night in quiet contemplation. Light a candle, watch the rain wistfully from your window, write poetry on one another’s bodies. We need to be ready for an important night on Thursday as the Penguins 🐧 come to DC and the Isles 🎣 go to Columbus.
Loffs Watch Theme Song of the Day
Loffs Watch. Everyone’s saying it. Loffs Watch.
