Look, there’s no escaping the naysayers who will dismiss just about any Washington Capitals accomplishments with snark about past playoff letdowns.
All the Capitals can do is march forward and lock down as many edges as they can.
With 89 standings points after a tight 2-1 win against the Edmonton Oilers on Friday, the Capitals look increasingly likely to have home-ice advantage either through the East (seven-point edge on the Penguins or the entire playoffs (five-point edge on idle Wild, who only hold a game in hand on the Caps).
Now, it’s fair to argue that home-ice (or home-court) advantage matters less in hockey than some other sports. Sure, you can line-match more often with the last change, among other advantages. Still, the biggest edges might be mental.
That said ... those small edges might be enough for a team as loaded - and with as much urgency - as this rendition of the Capitals.
Tom Wilson: "We’re making it tough for teams to come into this building, which is something we always kind of wanted to do." Caps 64-Opp 20.
— Stephen Whyno 🌴 (@SWhyno) February 25, 2017
Heeding the call at the Verizon Center
They’ve now won 13 games in a row at the Verizon Center, improving their overall home record to 25-5-1.
The Capitals are still a strong team on the road (16-7-6), yet that home record is lofty. It also could come in awfully handy, particularly if they face off against the Penguins again. Pittsburgh’s 24-4-3 home mark contrasts sharply with a more modest 13-10-5 road record.
Perhaps this talk is all small potatoes. Still, when you consider how close things have been - in this age of parity, and in the extremely competitive Metropolitian Division specifically - it could be quite the edge.
In short, the Capitals are a pretty scary group possibly with home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. At least as of right now.
As far as the Oilers go, they’re locked in a tight race for second in the Pacific, as the Ducks currently hold the ROW tiebreaker. Grabbing at least a standings point in this one would have helped ... but that’s a tall order against the Caps in their own backyard.
It wasn’t all good news for Washington, tonight:
Coach Trotz announces that Oshie, Orpik and Niskanen will miss tomorrow's game in Nashville and meet the team in New York. #Caps
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) February 25, 2017