The Washington Capitals clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoff last night in a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. The Capitals finished the season with an absurd -37 goal differential. Making the postseason with such a low goal differential has put this Capitals team into the history books.
According to SportsNet Stats, Washington’s -37 goal differential is the worst by any playoff-bound team since the Hartford Whalers (-38) and Vancouver Canucks (-72) in the 1990-91 season.
The Whalers were eliminated in the first round by the Boston Bruins and the Canucks met the same fate against the Los Angeles Kings. That does not bode well for Washington’s chances of making a deep run in the playoffs.
Tuesday night’s game featured a wild ending that had wide-reaching implications for other teams as the NHL regular season comes to a close.
The madness started with the score tied and just minutes to go in the game. Philadelphia coach John Tortorella pulled his goaltender to gain an extra attacker because the Flyers needed to win in regulation to keep their hopes alive. Tortorella didn’t know that just minutes before in Montreal, the Detroit Red Wings scored a goal with 3.3 seconds remaining that forced overtime. That goal eliminated the Flyers.
T.J. Oshie then scored an empty-net goal for the Capitals with three minutes left that won the game for Washington. In the process, they snatched the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference from the Detroit Red Wings.
“We’ll take it,” Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin said. “Thanks, Philly.”
Reactions from Washington Capitals on defeating Flyers, making playoffs
The Washington Capitals and their fans were thrilled about the exciting conclusion to Tuesday night’s game, ending the regular season on an incredibly high note.
“Wow. Wow. What a moment,” Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery said in a postgame locker room speech. “I’m so proud of this group that this group was counted out months ago.”
The head coach continued by heaping praise on the team for never giving up down the stretch. He also gave props to Alex Ovechkin and T.J. Oshie among others.
JFreshHockey on X/Twitter noted the Capitals’ splits this season by goal differential, which highlights that the majority of Washington’s success this season came in close games.
- 20-2-11 in games decided by one goal
- 20-29-0 in games decided by two or more goals
- 12-24-0 in games decided by three or more goals
“It means a lot,” Oshie said on making the playoffs. “Once you win one time, the regular season just doesn’t have as much meaning as the playoff games, so to get back there is going to be super special and definitely won’t take it for granted. The boys will be ready to rock.”
Oshie is one of a handful of players remaining from the Capitals’ 2018 Stanley Cup team, along with Ovechkin, John Carlson and Tom Wilson.
The Washington Capitals have now made the Stanley Cup Playoffs 33 times in 41 seasons. Next up: game one against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on either Saturday or Sunday.
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