A Wild Night Of Hockey Sent The Capitals To The Playoffs And The Flyers, Red Wings, And Penguins Golfing
We knew going into Tuesday night's slate of NHL games that there was a chance things got a little crazy as far as who made it into the Stanley Cup Playoffs and who just missed out and, boy, did it deliver.
Going into Tuesday night, four teams were still alive and had a shot at the Eastern Conference's final wild card spot: the Washington Capitals, Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Philadelphia Flyers.
Three were in action on Tuesday with the Pens forced to sit at home and twiddle their thumbs hoping to see both the Capitals and Red Wings in regulation for a chance at a playoff appearance.
Meanwhile, the Capitals controlled their destiny and would make the postseason with a win over the Flyers. The Flyers could earn that spot as well, but only with a win, plus regulation losses for the Red Wings and Penguins.
And finally, the Red Wings would've made the postseason with a Capitals loss and a point of any kind against the Montreal Canadiens.
Got that? Alright, here's some wild stuff that went down…
Flyers Got Hosed By A Quick Whistle
The Flyers held on to a playoff spot for most of the season, but a lousy final month of the season made them the team that needed the most to go their way.
Of course, it all hinged on them beating the Capitals at home, and that appeared to get off to a good start… had it not been for a quick whistle.
Did the Flyers get robbed on that one? Hell yeah they did, but they shouldn't have been in a position where they needed to win game No. 82 to make the postseason in the first place.
Not ideal, but that didn't blow their season…
Unfortunately for the Fly Guys, the Capitals answered with a goal from Alex Ovechkin late in the first. The Flyers knotted it up in the second period on a goal from defenseman Erik Johnson, and that's when things got really wild.
Detroit's Dylan Larkin skates the puck ahead of Montreal's Christian Dvorak Tuesday night at the Bell Centre. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, In Montreal…
The Red Wings — who currently have the longest playoff series win drought in the NHL — battled back to tie the Habs at 3 after trailing 3-1.
Remember the Red Wings just needed a point and a Caps loss to make the playoffs.
However, with around 8 minutes to go Montreal's Juraj Slafkovsy did his best to play spoiler and put the Canadiens up 4-3.
The Red Wings were running out of time but made the most of an offensive zone faceoff with just seven ticks on the clock.
That goal practically guaranteed overtime and therefore a point, so, if the Flyers could beat the Capitals it'd be the Red Wings heading to the postseason.
Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin scored in a must-win game that sent his team to the playoffs. (Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, In Philadelphia…
The Flyers found themselves in a situation a lot of people predicted: tied late in the third period. If they wanted any chance of making the postseason, they needed to win in regulation and that likely meant taking a huge risk and pulling the goalie with several minutes on the clock.
So, they did.
However, as head coach John Tortorella revealed after the game, he was unaware that the Red Wings had scored the late goal to send their game in Montreal to overtime, which eliminated the Flyers.
So, Philadelphia brought Sam Ersson to the bench, and Washington's TJ Oshie buried an empty-netter that didn't need to happen to send the Caps to the postseason and pulled the rug out from under the Red Wings.
The Red Wings ended up beating the Canadiens in a shootout, but thanks to the Caps' win, it didn't matter.
The Capitals took the last spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the Eastern Conference matchups are set. Washington will take on the New York Rangers in the first round while the Carolina Hurricanes battle the New York Islanders, the Boston Bruins face the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Florida Panthers keep it in state with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
As for the Flyers, Red Wings, and Penguins… unfortunately, they've probably got some tee times next week.