The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Carolina Hurricanes both won their respective games Thursday night, clinching playoff spots in the 2019 postseason.
There are still three different teams that the Capitals could face in the first round. And buckle up, one of them is the Penguins.
NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti broke it down on Twitter. The Capitals can face the Carolina Hurricanes, the Pittsburgh Penguins, or the Columbus Blue Jackets.
So, Capitals can still face Hurricanes, Blue Jackets or Penguins. https://t.co/AyXTQDqU88
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) April 5, 2019
With the Capitals clinching the Metropolitan Division and having no chance to catch up to Atlantic Division winner Tampa Bay, the Capitals will play the first wildcard team of the Eastern Conference and have home-ice advantage. That is known.
If the playoffs started today that team would be the Carolina Hurricanes, who will return to the playoffs for the first time since 2009 after beating New Jersey 3-1.
The wait is over!! pic.twitter.com/VDajOkASZh
— x – Carolina Hurricanes (@NHLCanes) April 5, 2019
How ya feeling, @PMrazek34? pic.twitter.com/M8bz3pxpRf
— x – Carolina Hurricanes (@NHLCanes) April 5, 2019
But…! If the Hurricanes defeat the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday and the Penguins lose in regulation to the New York Rangers (who will be playing in the second game of a back-to-back), then Carolina would jump up in the standings and face the second-place Islanders. And then the Penguins would match up against the Capitals.
Columbus could also work its way into the first wildcard spot if they win out against the Rangers and the Ottawa Senators and the Hurricanes lose its final game in regulation.
There are other scenarios too, but I want to sleep before 4 am tonight so I’ll let you figure those out in the comments.
While the Capitals’ game Saturday against the Islanders is meaningless, the Blue Jackets, Hurricanes, and Penguins games over the next two days will be worth watching the scoreboard for.
