Open Up the Back Door

No, we're not talking about Canadian Diving Team Captain, Low blow Secondary Assist Cindy Crosby's favorite fighting style...

We're talking about the Caps gaining a playoff spot. Sparked by a four goal third period that gave the Buffaslugs a 5-3 win over Florida in Loserville...er...Buffalo, the Washington Capitals have now qualified for a spot in the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Even though the Caps and the Panthers can finish the season with the exact same point total; the Caps have the first real tie breaker over the Panthers which is total wins as the Panthers cannot win more than 43 games. The Caps have already won 45 games so advantage and playoff spot to the Washington Capitals.

The Carolina Hurricanes tied a franchise record with their ninth straight win at home tonight over the Ottawa Senators. So the magic number for a Division Title remains at five points as should the Caps and Canes be tied at the end of the regular season, the Caps and Canes currently would most likely have identical records (both have 7 losses after regulation) however the Canes won the season series from the Caps (7 points to 6) and therefore have the tiebreaker over the Caps; necessitating the extra point for Washington. Carolina does not play again until Saturday night when they visit New Jersey who are playing in Chicago on Friday night.

So now, we begin the watch on who the Caps will face in the first round, "if the playoff started today," that would be the Penguin Scum. However, they are currently leading Calgary 2-0 late in the third period and have a game in hand on the Hurricanes who are only one point ahead of the Penguin Scum. The Rangers are a strong possibility as they have two games in hand and trail the Hurricanes by three points.