When the Washington Capitals traded away Anthony Mantha, Joel Edmundson and Evgeny Kuznetzov three weeks ago, most Caps fans assumed that pretty much shut the door on the 2024 playoffs. But apparently, most of us were wrong.
After Tuesday’s win against Detroit in overtime, the Capitals currently sit in the second wildcard spot in the East, two points up on the Red Wings with a game in hand and 11 games remaining. In addition, Washington is one point behind the Philadelphia Flyers for third place in the Metropolitan Division with two games in hand. For the first time in two years, the Capitals find themselves in the thick of the playoff hunt, and they control their own destiny down the stretch.
Those games in hand are key, because the Capitals also have a more difficult closing schedule than the other teams in the race. Of those 11 remaining games, 10 are against teams who are either still fighting to catch the Capitals in the standings or looking for the best possible seeding in the playoffs. They face the Red Wings one more time in that stretch and the Flyers on the last day of the season. Those games will likely determine whether the Capitals make the playoffs.
The best part about this string of games is that they have won without Tom Wilson (suspended) and Sonny Milano (injured). They have also won in many ways, like 7-6 in a shootout against the Carolina Hurricanes, 3-0 against the Winnipeg Jets, and now 4-3 in overtime against the Red Wings.
The five keys down the stretch will likely be:
1: The goaltending continues to be great
Charlie Lindgren has been awesome and deserves a bobblehead of his own, and the better he plays down the stretch, the better the Capitals odds are. But Washington will also need Darcy Kuemper to play like he did with the Avalanche during their Stanley Cup run. Both will likely be called upon in key spots in April.
2: They keep rolling four lines
Look, it’s a balancing act. Spencer Carbery and his staff have shown that they’re not going to play guys if they make mistakes. Stars will be double-shifted in key spots as if these were playoff games – because they essentially are. But the more minutes the fourth line can handle, the fresher the top six will be in the third.
3: Dylan Strome continues to make Blackhawk fans question why they didn’t tender him
Chicago’s poor asset management has been huge for these past two seasons. Dylan Strome, besides boosting Jimmy Eat World’s Spotify numbers every time he scores, has been an incredible offensive-minded center who can score goals and is clutch when he is needed. With Nicklas Backstrom’s career derailed by injuries and Kuzentnov’s off-ice issues getting in the way, it’s hard to imagine where this team would be without Strome in the top six.
4: The young guys step up when needed
One of the key developments in 2023-24 has been the rise of the prospects. Connor McMichael has played like a legitimate top-six center and Hendrix Lapierre is trusted with key minutes in OT. You also have Ivan Miroshnichenko playing a huge role on the third line this year and while he only has six point in 15 games, he has been a key penalty killer and has been extremely physical when is needed. All three, along with Aliakse Protas, look like key parts of the team’s future. To make the playoffs, the Caps will need them to keep playing at a high level in the present.
5: The power play surges
The power play strategy can’t just be “Feed Ovechkin in his office and hope he scores.” The Caps have to improve on some zone entries and just do what they have been doing, which is moving the puck around and finding the open shot
If they can do all of these things, then they have a real shot of making the playoffs
By Ethan Berman