The Washington Capitals’ 4-2 regulation loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night hurt in more ways than one.
Not only did the L come against an opponent that has struggled mightily lately — the Flyers were 2-8-2 in their last 12 games coming into the night — but some worst-case scenarios happened in other games played last night, throwing the Capitals even more into catch-up mode.
NHL standings as of the morning of Feb. 4
The Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders, who sit second and third respectively in the Metropolitan Division standings, saw their game against each other go into overtime, meaning both teams got at least one standings point. The Islanders, who the Capitals are trying to catch for third, then won 5-4 in sudden-death, giving them back their four-point lead ahead of the Caps.
The Maple Leafs, who are among a group of teams in contention for the second wild-card spot, defeated the Western Conference’s Edmonton Oilers 5-2, tying the Capitals with 63 standings points.
The most concerning development of the evening came in the Columbus Blue Jackets’ game against the New Jersey Devils. Columbus shut out the Devils 3-0, earning their sixth straight victory and their ninth W in the last 10 games. The Blue Jackets’ run of great play over the last month has shot them out of the basement of the Eastern Conference and tied them with the Capitals with 63 standings points. The Blue Jackets also have three games in hand over the Caps.
As of today, the Capitals currently sit 11th in the Eastern Conference standings, but 13th in points percentage (.543). Their odds to make the playoffs, as of today, are 30.8 percent per MoneyPuck.
League-wide, the Capitals are the only organization to have played 58 games so far, meaning every other team in the NHL has games in-hand on them.
