Washington Capitals clinch final spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs

It might have taken until Game 82, but it was worth the wait.

Following a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night, the Washington Capitals clinched the final spot in the Eastern Conference for the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

It certainly was a wild night for the Capitals. They came into the game with a simple task: win, and they were in. If they lost, they would have to rely on the Detroit Red Wings losing to the Montreal Canadiens.

Things were looking good for Washington, as captain Alexander Ovechkin scored his 31st goal of the season in the first period. However, the Flyers, who needed to win in regulation to have a chance to sneak in, tied the game in the second with a goal from Erik Johnson.

Then, the craziness happened.

The Red Wings were losing 4-3 in the dying seconds of regulation in Montreal. Around the same time, Flyers head coach John Tortorella was waiting to pull the goaltender for an extra attacker, desperate to find the go-ahead goal.

At the Bell Centre, David Perron scored to tie the game with 3.3 seconds to go. However, 1:44 later, in real-time, TJ Oshie scored on an empty-net goal to put the Caps ahead.

Washington would hang for the win, sending the team back to the playoffs after missing out last season. It was a good thing Washington won, as the Red Wings ended up beating the Canadiens in a shootout.

As a result, the Capitals secured the second Wild Card spot in the East. The team ended the regular season with a minus-37 goal differential, the worst goal differential for a playoff team since 1991.

Washington will meet the President’s Trophy winners, the New York Rangers, in the first round of the playoffs. It will be the first time since the second round in 2015 that the Blueshirts and Caps will face off in the postseason.

This is the ninth time Washington has made the playoffs in the last 10 years. However, since the Capitals won the franchise’s first Stanley Cup in 2018, they have failed to make it out of the first round.