The Washington Capitals lost to the Buffalo Sabres in regulation 4-2 on Thursday — their seventh L in the last eight games. The untimely defeat could come back to haunt them.
Not only did the Capitals fall out of the second wild card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, but they now no longer control their own destiny. Every team they are battling with in the East got at least one standings point on the evening.
Everything that could’ve gone wrong went wrong. Tonight was literally the worst-case scenario.
After defeating the Detroit Red Wings 6-5 in overtime, the Pittsburgh Penguins jumped into the driver’s seat of the second wild card spot (86 standings points) with three games to go in the season. The OT loss wasn’t all bad for the Red Wings either as they tied the Capitals with 85 standings points. The Capitals hold the tiebreaker over Detroit due to regulation wins (29 to 27).
The Philadelphia Flyers ended their 8-game losing streak Thursday, defeating the New York Rangers 4-1. The loss tied the Flyers with the Capitals and Red Wings with 85 points, but the Flyers have played one extra game than both teams, meaning they sit behind both teams due to the points percentage tiebreaker.
The most devastating outcome may have been the New York Islanders’ 3-2 overtime win over the Montreal Canadiens. The Islanders now have a four-point lead over the Capitals for the third and final playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division. With only a maximum of six standings points left for the Capitals, that M3 spot may no longer be in reach.
Per Money Puck, the Capitals’ playoff odds dropped from 42.3 percent on Tuesday night to 18.8 percent tonight. The Penguins are now the team to beat (57.8 percent) as the Islanders have virtually clinched (91.8 percent).
