A Tom Wilson goal with 14.3 seconds left to play in Thursday’s game against the Penguins at Capital One Arena not only saved the Capitals from a regulation loss, but it put them officially into the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
That, however, wasn’t of much consolation to anyone after the game.
The Capitals now trail the Penguins by a single point in the East Division with a game in hand and even though clinching a playoff spot was the first step of what they hope is many, playoff intensity is still on the mind in Washington.
“I think you can never take that for granted so that's the first step you've got to accomplish to be able to compete for the Cup,” center Lars Eller said. “You've got to get in so we can check mark that, but focus on next game. But that's the first accomplishment.”
The Capitals have now made the playoffs in seven consecutive seasons and all but once since the 2007-2008 season. But that doesn’t mean there’s any room for celebration just yet.
Against their biggest rivals, and a potential playoff matchup, the Capitals made a few turnovers in their own end and that cost them big in the end.
“It was a couple of mistakes that cost us, you know?” defenseman Dmitry Orlov said. “We have to be focused for full 60 minutes, play better. I think sometimes we get a lot of penalties, hooking or tripping...So we have to be smart. We have to play faster and try to get our feet moving and not get those penalties.”
They’ll have another shot to retake the division lead on Saturday night, but more importantly, it’ll be another chance to get primed for the playoffs.
The Capitals were without defenseman John Carlson and captain Alex Ovechkin on Thursday, but with the season over in just six games, the ramp-up to the playoffs has already begun.
“It's nice to be in the playoffs already,” Orlov said. “We have a tough division, a lot of points. In our division, already like these four teams know who is going to be there. For us it's a different situation, us and Pittsburgh battle for first place in division. Everyone want to be first probably, get home advantage in the playoffs. It's good we got one point but better to have two. Next game hopefully going to be better than today.”
So with the playoffs clinched, the focus will now shift to making sure they ensure themselves home-ice advantage. But more importantly, making sure they are playing their absolute best as the season winds down — because nearly every game the rest of the way will feel like a Stanley Cup Playoff game.
“We didn’t spend a lot of time talking about qualifying for the playoffs,” coach Peter Laviolette said. “We were talking about different things. So there’s no question we talked about the way that this game would most likely be played and that’s exactly how it was played. And it did have that playoff feel to it.”
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April 30, 2021 at 10:28AM
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Capitals clinch playoff spot, but playing with playoff intensity still key - NBC Sports
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