It may have taken all 82 games on the calendar, but for the 9th time in the last ten seasons and the 15th time in the previous 17 seasons, the Washington Capitals are playing postseason hockey.
Following a thrilling 2-1 road victory over the Philadelphia Flyers, the Capitals locked up the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and now look forward to a first-round matchup with the New York Rangers.
“It’s pretty surreal,” Spencer Carbery told reporters postgame. “I don’t think I actually conceptualized this moment of us reaching our goal to get back into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and then when it happens, you’re taken back. I’m really, really proud of the group. Today was once again emblematic of what this group has done all year long. On the back-to-back, you could tell we were completely out of gas, and we were just fighting for every shift.”
The Caps struck first with just under two minutes remaining in the first period when Alex Ovechkin silenced a packed house of Flyers fans when he took a swing on a deflected shot to find the back of the net, marking his 31st goal of the season and 853rd career goal. Washington took momentum and a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
“That’s why we play hockey,” Ovechkin said at his locker postgame. “You want to be in that kind of atmosphere, and we beat pretty good teams, too, to be able to make it.”
Philadelphia came out with a strong push in the second period and turned a shift in momentum into a tied game. Erik Johnson deflected a shot from the point with 7:31 left in the period and would take the game into the third period tied at 1-1. However, a hero was needed for Washington, who needed any win to seal their playoff spot.
That hero was TJ Oshie.
The Flyers, in need of a regulation win, pulled their goaltender with under 4 minutes to go, and Oshie answered the call for the Capitals. With Philly’s goalie Samuel Ersson on the bench, number 77 weaved through the neutral zone to turn the lights on the empty net goal lamp and turn the lights out for the Flyers season.
“It was kind of surprising, actually,” Oshie said. “Skating down the ice, I didn’t even know the goalie was out until it looked like [F Garnett Hathaway] was trying to block a shot there. It felt good. It was such a good game, so it’s kind of unfortunate that that’s the way it has to end. But they obviously needed a regulation win, so it’s understandable. But it was a tough battle; it was a tough fight for us.”
In net, goalie Charlie Lindgren again posted a tremendous showing to cap off what has been a remarkable year in net for Washington. He ended his second night of the Capitals back to back with 27 saves on 28 shots and helped seal a ticket to the first playoff appearance of his career.
“There’s certainly been bumps in the road, there’s been adversity, but this team has answered the bell every single time,” Lindgren said. He continued, “It’s such a privilege to play for these guys. We’ve got guys out there competing as hard as they can, and we’ve got a great staff here. It’s been an incredible journey.”
Washington’s win sent them to the playoffs and simultaneously eliminated the Flyers, Detroit Red Wings, and Pittsburgh Penguins, who were locked in a razor-thin battle for the final spot. Washington has a few days to recoup and get healthy before taking the trip north to face the best team in hockey, the New York Rangers.
Buckle up, Caps fans; your team has more hockey to play.