February 8th’s 4-2 loss to the Florida Panthers felt like the nail in the coffin for the Washington Capitals 2024 campaign. In a game the Caps needed following a blowout loss two nights prior, the Panthers handed Washington their sixth consecutive loss and left Washington second to last in the Metro Divison with 51 points.
What a difference a few weeks can make.
It’s February 27th, and Washington has climbed back into the playoff race. Following a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators, the Capitals carry a five-game point streak with them and sit just four points outside third place in the Metro Divison playoff picture. Furthermore, they are scoring goals at a rate we haven’t seen this season.
Ben Raby from the Capitals Radio Network pointed out how improved they’ve been via X. “The Capitals are 4-0-1 in their last five games and have outscored the opposition 23-14 over the five-game stretch with 15 different goal scorers along the way.” He also pointed out just how far the Capitals have come in closing the large gap that the Flyers once had as a third-place team in the division.
“As recently as February 16th, the Capitals were 11 points back of 3rd place [Philidelphia] Flyers in the Metropolitan Division, and have since gone 4-0-1 and cut the deficit to 4pts (with two games-in-hand). They also host the Flyers on Friday.”
I bet you didn’t have that on your bingo card.
Resilience is the name of the game for first-year head Coach Spencer Carbery, who has his boys playing hard to the last whistle in the face of several serious injury roadblocks.
To start with, Washington is dealing with injuries at several key positions. TJ Oshie, Martin Fehervary, Nic Jensen, Sonny Milano, and Nic Dowd are all key pieces currently on the injured list, with Jensen and Milano considered day-to-day. This list is not to mention Evgeny Kuznetsov being on the inactive list after entering the player assistance program.
But several former Hershey Bears have been answering the call of duty for the Capitals, who are working to get their roster back to health.
It’s making all the difference in the world.
Hendrix Lapierre, Alaiksei Protas, Beck Malenstyn, Connor McMichael, and Michael Sgarbossa all scored points on Monday night’s win against the Senators, and all have played vital roles in allowing the Capitals to make a postseason push.
One of the biggest reasons for Washington’s recent success has been the resurgence of Alex Ovechkin, who many feared may finally be running into an undefeated battle with Father Time. The 38-year-old Captain, for now, has silenced those fears, scoring eight goals in his last ten games and points in 10 of his last 11 games.
However, the season for Washington will come down to the next few weeks ahead, which is panning out to be the most critical month of the 2024 season: March.
Looking forward, the Flyers, Penguins, and Red Wings are three of the upcoming four opponents for Washington, with their most important game arguably coming up this Friday against the Flyers at home, with a chance to trim Philly’s lead in the division even more.
Further down the line, Washington will see a few top-tier teams in the Cannucks, Jets, Bruins, Maple Leaves, and Divison rival Carolina Hurricanes before March is finished.
So, what’s to be seen in the weeks ahead? If this Capitals team has taught us anything over the last few months, anything is possible. But continuing to collect points as the roster gets healthy may be the recipe for Washington’s March to set up an eventful April.