The Washington Capitals have already equaled their win total from last season in 20 fewer games.
Washington achieved the feat after defeating the New York Rangers 3-2 in overtime on Wednesday night. The win improved their record to 40-14-8, matching the 2023-24 team’s 40 wins and moving just three standings points away (88) from eclipsing last season’s 91 points (40-31-11).
2024-25 NHL standings
With the win, the Capitals also drew even with the Winnipeg Jets at the top of the overall league standings. Both teams now have 88 points after 62 games, with Winnipeg slightly ahead due to having one more regulation win (34) than the Capitals (33).
The Carolina Hurricanes were also inactive, so the Capitals extended their lead in the Metropolitan Division back to 12 points. Washington’s nine-point lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Eastern Conference will also likely stay intact as Toronto is down 5-1 to the Vegas Golden Knights after two periods on Wednesday night.
As things currently sit, the Capitals would square off with the Ottawa Senators in the first round of the playoffs. Washington is 2-0-1 against Ottawa this season, and all three games went to overtime.
NHEW YHORK CITAYYY DUB#CapsRangers | #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/tgF4TbcWQJ
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 6, 2025
To get to the 40-win mark, the Capitals needed to come from behind and win for the 20th time this season, a league-best mark. Per the team, the comeback, spurred by a late Alex Ovechkin power-play goal, was their sixth third-period comeback win of the year.
Outside of a pure standings perspective, this year’s Capitals, with their 223 goals, have also now outscored last year’s team, who scored just 220 goals in 20 more games. The 2024-25 Caps are also sporting an East-best plus-60 goal differential after last year’s team set the salary cap era record for the worst goal differential (-37) to make the playoffs.
Washington will head home for two games against the Detroit Red Wings and Seattle Kraken before heading west for their annual Californian road swing. They’ll play three in a row against the Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, and San Jose Sharks from March 11 through March 15 and then get their first two-day break of the month.
