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East update: Caps stay alive as Detroit, Columbus also win

Alexander Steen, Nate Schmidt

St. Louis Blues left wing Alexander Steen (20) scuffles with Washington Capitals defenseman Nate Schmidt (88) in the second period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

AP

The Washington Capitals need to win out and enjoy a staggering array of breaks to make the playoffs, but they at least did their part on Tuesday, handling the St. Louis Blues to a tune of a 4-1 win.

It was the kind of victory that left many Capitals fans and writers wondering, “Where has this team been all this time?”

... And left St. Louis fans booing a team that is now on its first three-game losing streak of the season:

Oh yeah, if that’s not enough for Blues fans, it appears that David Backes might have a foot injury. Updates were scarce on Tuesday, so that might be something we learn more about it later on.

Circling back to the Capitals’ desperate playoff run, the good news is that they won; the bad news is that the teams ahead of them also almost uniformly improved their leads (most notably the wild card teams). The Detroit Red Wings handled the Buffalo Sabres while the Columbus Blue Jackets managed a spirited overtime win against the even-more-desperate Phoenix Coyotes. Washington basically needs to win out and have at least one of these teams more or less collapse to make it to the playoffs.

See for yourself:

eastapril8

James OBrien

There are now only four teams who can mathematically end up with the two final East spots: Detroit, Columbus, Washington and the New Jersey Devils (who are hanging on by even less of a thread).

The Capitals can top out at 91 standings points, 39 wins and 29 regulation/overtime wins. Want an idea of how likely that may be? Here are the four teams’ closing schedules:

Detroit: Wednesday - at Pittsburgh, Friday - vs. Carolina and Sunday - at St. Louis
Columbus: Wednesday - at Dallas, Friday - at Tampa Bay, Saturday - at Florida
Washington: Thursday - at Carolina, Friday - vs. Chicago, Sunday - vs. Tampa Bay
New Jersey: Thursday - at Ottawa, Friday - vs. NY Islanders, Sunday - vs. Boston

Could Washington finish ahead of at least two of those teams when it’s all over? It’s not impossible, it’s just improbable. They at least kept that door open on Tuesday night, though.

Related: Flyers clinch spot; Maple Leafs, Senators and Hurricanes bow out

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins