And the Caps are on top in the Southeast division and have played one less game than the second place Jets.  With less than ten games left on the schedule the Caps just need a couple more wins to secure a playoff spot.  Whodathunkit?  There has been way too much frustration packed into this short little season, but Caps fans can finally breathe a very small sigh of relief.  The next 9 games will be tough and let’s just say, at this point, they are all must win.  For the first time this season the Caps have won 4 in a row.  They really need to keep this streak alive.  They head to Montreal on Tuesday to face the Canadiens then come home for three games.  The Caps will then head back to Canada for two games in three days against the Senators then.  They then head home again for their last three games of the regular season.  I fully expect the Phone Booth to be packed with red, unleashed fury.

Shout-outs:

· Ovechkin– The magic number of the night (and past couple of games) is 8.  Obviously he gets the first shout-out.  I mentioned last time that I didn’t want to say too much about him, and it seemed to work.  But here are few awesome facts that just need to be mentioned:

o   Ovie now has 25 goals this season, tying him with Stamkos as the NHL’s goal-scoring leaders. AND he did it in front of Stamkos who failed to score last night.

o   Between his hatty on Saturday, and his two goals last night, Ovie scored 5 goals in a little over 24 hours.  Yeah.  Where are all the haters now?

o   Ovi is again the NHL’s Star of the Week

o   Ovie had 8 shots last night.

o   The Caps have won 8 of their last ten

(For more awesome Ovie stats read this article)

· Ward – Before
getting injured in the third, he had a goal and an assist.  Ward
has now put up more points in the 39 games this season than he did his entire
last season with the Caps, and set a new personal record for most goals in a
season. Come back soon, Joel.

· Hillen – Hillen’s wife had their second child on Saturday during the Panthers game, and last night Hillen recorded 2 assists.  Fatherhood is lookin’ good on ya, buddy.

· Backstrom – Nicky recorded his 300th career assist on Ovie’s first goal of the night.  He also won 65% of his face-offs last night.  Nicky, we love you.

· WEAPONS – Everyone should know by now that this is Big John Erskine.  He led the Caps last night with 4 hits.  Boom.

For more stats and happenings from last night’s game check out the Caps’ post-game notebook.

           

Keep it up, Caps.  I’ll finally be able to attend a playoff game so ya better get there.  Rock the Red.