Washington wins Southeast for fourth straight time; Team also atop Eastern Conference and controls its own destiny
Make it four Southeast Division titles in a row for the Capitals.
A team that has struggled to produce a long Stanley Cup playoff run in each of the last three seasons will get another chance as a high seed after a 3-2 shootout victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night.
Alex Ovechkin and John Erskine each scored a goal in regulation and veteran winger Mike Knuble notched the lone goal in the shootout to lift his team to the victory at Air Canada Centre in Toronto. Knuble’s game-winning attempt came in Washington’s fourth chance after neither team had scored.
The Caps (47-22-11, 105 points) had already clinched the Southeast Division because Tampa Bay lost at Buffalo minutes before the game against the Maple Leafs concluded. But Knuble’s shootout goal gave Washington an extra standings point.
| Caps notes |
| » Alex Ovechkin scored his 300th career goal when he scored against Toronto on the power play in the first period. |
| » At 25 years, 200 days, Ovechkin is the sixth-youngest player in NHL history to reach 300 goals and the seventh-fastest to do so (473 career games). |
| » Caps goalie Michal Neuvirth finished with 19 saves against the Maple Leafs. |
Thanks to Philadelphia’s loss at Ottawa on Tuesday, the Caps also jumped all alone into first place in the Eastern Conference and control their own destiny. Win the final two regular-season games — both against the Florida Panthers — and Washington will be the conference’s top seed for the second year in a row.
The Maple Leafs led 2-1 thanks to goals from Nikolai Kulemin and Joffrey Lupul. But Erskine banked a shot off a Toronto player and past goalie James Reimer. It was his fourth goal of the season and 11th point. Both are career bests. Reimer was the reason the Maple Leafs were even still in the contest. He finished with 39 saves on 41 Washington shots. Toronto managed just 21 shots on goal.
The Caps immediately returned home after the game to face Florida Wednesday night at Verizon Center in the second of a back-to-back. They end the regular season with a game at the Panthers on Saturday night. Just one point in either of its last two games — or any loss by No. ?3 seed Boston — clinches at least the Eastern Conference’s No. ?2 seed for Washington.
But Philadelphia wins the tiebreaker and will still earn the No. 1 seed if the two teams finish with the same amount of points. The Flyers conclude with a game at Buffalo on Friday and at home against the New York Islanders on Saturday.
The Caps are tied with the San Jose Sharks for the longest current streak of division titles. After play on Tuesday, Washington was on pace to meet the No. 8 seed New York Rangers in the first round of the playoffs.
