Washington Capitals Hockey

         Tuesday, March 25, 2008          

Time to Put Up or Shut Up

For weeks we've been saying that every game is a "must win". But Washington hasn't won every won of those games and they are still in position to reach the playoffs, both as an eight seed and a three seed (as division winner). A loss tonight to Carolina will essentially eliminate the latter possibility while pushing the former further from reach. So to keep options open, this is indeed the Capitals' first "must win" of the season.

It's been a while since the Capitals have seen the 'Canes, so what's the deal with this Carolina team that has been defying logic of late? 

They traded away two integral pieces (Mike Commodore and Cory Stillman) of their Stanley Cup run due to their looming free agent status. They started winning. Almost immediately thereafter, captain Rod Brind'Amour's season was done with a knee injury. The next game, it was Justin Williams' knee that gave out. Didn't matter, they kept winning. But the injury bug didn't stop there. Most recently, Ray Whitney and Matt Cullen have hit the injury list. But Carolina keeps winning.

Before the trade and subsequent injury problems, the Hurricanes' record was 27-27-4. Since then, Carolina is an unrelenting 14-3-1. With this game taking place in Raleigh, you may be wondering how well they have fared at home. Well, the 'Canes have gone 11-1-1 at the RBC Center since the All-Star Break.

So the odds are stacked against the Capitals, who with a win will move to within three points of Carolina. With a loss, they'll be seven back with five games to play -- almost assuredly ending their chances for a third Southeast Division title, and the first since 2000-01.

As far as the eighth seed goes, every team seeking the spot is in action tonight, but none head to head. In a best case scenario (Philly loses in New York, Boston falls in Toronto, Buffalo gets doused by Ottawa, and Florida flounders in Tampa Bay), the Capitals would be tied with Boston for eighth, two points back of Philly for seventh, and three points ahead of the Sabres and Panthers.

Of course Boston and Philly are where the Caps are looking most, as those are the teams that need to be caught. If the Bruins lose and the Caps win, yes they would be tied, but Boston still owns a game in hand. Philly would hold a two point lead but both the Flyers and Caps have an equal number of games remaining.

Now the worst case scenario. The Caps could drop to 11th place, four points out of 8th. And their hopes of catching Carolina are all but done. A "must win" game tonight? You betcha.