The Capitals are clawing their way back up the standings.
The Washington Capitals have been doing what they can to keep their playoff hopes alive, and now, they have the chance to jump back into a Wild Card spot and gain more traction in the everchanging postseason race on Monday.
Washington got a lot of help on the out-of-town scoreboard on Sunday, with the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins defeating the New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings to keep them down in the standings. Now, all the team needs is at least a point against the Calgary Flames to overtake New York for the second Wild Card spot, and a win would also move D.C. within one point of the Philadelphia Flyers for third in the Metropolitan Division.
Per MoneyPuck, the Capitals' playoff odds have also gone up and now sit at 37.8 percent, while the Islanders and Red Wings' hopes went down below 30 percent. Of course, things are still changing, but Washington has games in hand, which helps the team when it comes to tiebreaking procedures.
Against all odds and despite selling off some assets and electing not to add ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline, Washington is clawing its way back up the standings and is 6-4-0 in the last 10. After ter dropping back-to-back games to open a critical five-game road swing, D.C. has recovered for massive — and convincing — wins over the Seattle Kraken and Western Conference-leading Vancouver Canucks.
All the while, Charlie Lindgren continues to elevate his game while younger players like Connor McMichael and Ivan Miroshnichenko are taking on bigger roles.
Washington faces Calgary at 8:30 p.m. ET at Scotiabank Saddledome on Monday. The Flames have also won their last two games and are hoping to keep their season alive as they sit eight points out of a playoff spot out West.