Caps vs. Canes 3-10-2010 Wrap Up

Caps "Magic Numbers" (Caps Points Earned+Lost by team named) to clinch:
Playoff Spot: 1 Atlanta or 2 Montreal (New York Rangers, Florida, and Tampa Bay eliminated; 4th, 5th, and 6th of 7)
Southeast Division Championship: 1 Atlanta (3 of 4 eliminated)
Eastern Conference #1 Seed: 17 Pittsburgh (6 of 14 eliminated)
President's Trophy: 28 San Jose (8 of 29 eliminated)

The Local Yokels:

(Com)Post.  Examiner.  Caps.com.

The Neutral Observers:

NHL.com.  AP Wire.

The Other Side:

Raleigh News & Observer.

Final Thoughts:

Well folks, tonight the Atlanta Thrashers visit the Columbus Blue Jackets and any loss by the Thrashers to the Blue Jackets will yield the Southeast Division Title and a playoff spot for the Washington Capitals.  Heading into tonight, the Thrashers maximum point potential is 100 points and the Caps of course already have 99.  Should Atlanta and the Caps end up tied at the end of the regular season with 100 points, Atlanta would have 44 wins and the Caps would have 45 wins giving the tiebreaker to the Caps.  Should Atlanta pull off a win tonight, the Caps can still clinch a playoff spot, but not the Southeast Division, if the Edmonton Oilers defeat the Montreal Canadiens tonight in regulation in Montreal.  Otherwise, the Caps will just have to get a single point from the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday night to secure things.

67 down, 15 to go.