Sports Talk: Caps Take Step Up, But Not Into Playoffs

JOURNEY'S "DON'T STOP BELIEVING" blared in the locker room Tuesday night following the Washington Capitals' emphatic 4-1 dismantling of the division-leading Carolina Hurricanes. The victory, before a roaring, red-clad crowd of more than 18,000, was the Caps' ninth in 10 games and marked the rejuvenated club's first five-game winning streak in seven years. It also lifted it to within a hair of a playoff berth — something that seemed impossible just four months ago.

But that's all it did.

"We haven't accomplished anything yet, and we know that," defenseman Mike Green said. "These next two games are the biggest games of our careers."

Washington (41-31-8) hosts Tampa on Thursday and Florida on Saturday, but wins against the already eliminated rivals will not guarantee the Caps' first playoff berth since 2003. The permutations are complicated and involve up to five other teams. The most attractive scenario would involve Carolina's (42-32-6) dropping a point in either Wednesday night's game against Tampa or Friday against Florida, which would give Washington (with two wins) the division title and third seed.

Otherwise, either the New York Rangers (41-27-11), Ottawa (42-30-8), Philadelphia or Boston (both 40-28-11) would have to lose one or more games for the Caps to snatch the eighth spot.

The Caps are committed scoreboard watchers, and coach Bruce Boudreau admitted that as soon as Tuesday's game ended, "I went and watched TV to see the scores." But those results will be moot if Washington is unable to extend its streak.

"We cannot stop here tonight," veteran center Sergei Federov said Tuesday. "We realize what we've done. We have two points and that's all we say right now to each other. Next day is another challenge we're facing, and we're going to work on some things to prepare for Thursday night. And the next game will be as big for us as this game tonight."

Written by Express contributor Brian Straus
Photo by John McDonnell/The Washington Post