The Washington Capitals were outplayed by the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday night. But goals from Dylan Strome and Alex Ovechkin — coming just two minutes and five seconds apart — combined with sublime goaltending by Charlie Lindgren (42 saves) were enough to net the Capitals a clutch 2-1 victory.
The regulation win over the Red Wings not only ended the Capitals’ six-game losing streak, but it jumped them back into the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Washington now controls its own destiny heading into their final four games of the season.
As of Tuesday night, the Capitals lead the Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins by one point in the standings with the same amount of games remaining (4). They also got some help from the Philadelphia Flyers, who fell further out of playoff contention with a 9-3 blowout against the Montreal Canadiens. The Flyers have only three games remaining, meaning they could earn a maximum of 89 points if they won out the rest of their schedule. If the Capitals won out, they would end the campaign with 93 points.
Meanwhile, the Buffalo Sabres (79) were officially eliminated from postseason contention for a 13th consecutive season after falling to the Dallas Stars 3-2 on Tuesday. After a day off, Washington will face the Sabres at KeyBank Center on Thursday night.
The Capitals could have also jumped into the third guaranteed playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division with a New York Islanders loss tonight, but Patrick Roy’s team defeated the New York Rangers 4-2 in regulation. The Islanders (87) currently lead the Capitals (85) by two points with the same amount of games remaining (4).
No Eastern Conference teams have games on Wednesday, but Thursday will mark another big night in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
- WSH @ BUF
- PHI @ NYR
- DET @ PIT
- MTL @ NYI
That Detroit-Pittsburgh matchup could prove dangerous for the Capitals. Whichever team wins will end the night with 86 standings points, leapfrogging Washington’s current total. The Capitals would need at least one point against Buffalo on Thursday to hold onto their wild card spot if Detroit wins in regulation. If the Penguins win or the game goes to overtime, the Caps would need to beat Buffalo to retain their spot.
The Capitals would play former head coach Peter Laviolette and the New York Rangers if the playoffs started today.
Per Money Puck, the Capitals’ playoff odds jumped to 42.3 percent.
Playoff odds after the Eastern games tonight. https://t.co/RbnckCLHNP pic.twitter.com/SkRA1fVdwR
— MoneyPuck.com (@MoneyPuckdotcom) April 10, 2024
