They scored four goals in the final eight minutes to somehow pull a dramatic win out of the fire on Friday against Atlanta. In the process, star left wing Alex Ovechkin tied the franchise record with his 60th goal of the season.
Not a bad weekend for the Capitals. But it was all a prelude to tonight’s contest in Raleigh against the first-place Carolina Hurricanes. A victory and the Caps (37-31-8, 82 points) still harbor hopes of a Southeast Division title. A loss and those division dreams are likely over and — with just five games left after tonight — the chances of making the playoffs at all take a serious hit. That’s serious pressure for a young team that hasn’t reached the Stanley Cup playoffs since 2003.
“But we have pressure for two months,” said Ovechkin, who became the first NHL player to reach 60 goals since 1996. “The last two years we don’t win enough and [in March] start thinking about vacation or summer plans. Now we have great chance to take a step forward.”
It won’t be easy against a Carolina team that is 13-3-1 since losing forward and captain Rod Brind’Amour, the two-time defending Selke Trophy winner who suffered an ACL tear on Feb. 14. The Hurricanes (41-30-5, 87 points) have won four of six games against Washington so far. The Caps must find a way to solve Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward, who is 4-0 against them with a .949 save percentage. Washington sits in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, just two points behind Boston (37-28-10, 84 points) for the final playoff spot.
