You’ve heard this before, but it’s true once again. Tonight is the biggest game of the Washington Capitals’ season.
Despite a six-game losing streak and collecting only two standings points out of a possible 12 during that stretch, the Capitals are still in contention for a playoff spot and could, somewhat incredibly, control their own destiny with a victory over the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena tonight.
The Red Wings currently occupy the second wild card spot in the East with 84 points. The Capitals have 83 points.
A regulation win over the Red Wings would give the Capitals 85 points and a one point lead for the 2WC in the standings — with all four contending teams at 78 games played. This means, if the Capitals won their final four games, they would make the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs.
According to Money Puck, if the Capitals defeat the Red Wings tonight, their playoff odds would rise to nearly a coin flip (43 percent) while a loss in regulation would send their playoff chances tumbling to under 10 percent.
Biggest game of the year so far tonight. 40 percentage point swing for the Wings and 33 point swing for the Caps https://t.co/QDOrXeNeuZ pic.twitter.com/MVRrerO7DK
— MoneyPuck.com (@MoneyPuckdotcom) April 9, 2024
An overtime or shootout loss would further muddle the East playoff picture, leaving the Capitals (84) in a tie with Pittsburgh, one point ahead of Philadelphia (83), and two points behind Detroit (86).
An overtime or shootout win would tie the Capitals with Detroit at 85 points. The Capitals would hold the first tiebreaker — regulation wins (28 to 27) — giving them the second wild card spot for now.
Coming into tonight’s game, the Capitals also sit two points behind the New York Islanders for the third and final playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division. A victory from the Capitals would tie the two teams and give the Capitals the spot (Washington holds the regulation wins tiebreaker). But the Islanders have a game against the New York Rangers tonight. A win or a loss in overtime/shootout would keep the Islanders at M3.
