The Capitals qualified for the playoffs for the eighth straight season and 14th time in 15 seasons.
Washington will seek to win its first postseason series since the 2018 Stanley Cup Final, when it defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in five games to win its first NHL championship.
The Capitals (43-23-10) played through a host of injuries early in the season, including to forwards Nicklas Backstrom (hip), T.J. Oshie (upper body, lower body) and Anthony Mantha (shoulder surgery) to go 20-6-7 and tie the Tampa Bay Lightning for the NHL lead with 47 points through Dec. 31. Washington slumped after that and was 8-12-2 during the next two months before regrouping to go 14-5-1 since March 1.
Alex Ovechkin has led the way again. In his 17th NHL season, the left wing is fourth in the NHL and leads the Capitals with 47 goals in 73 games. The 36-year-old also leads Washington with 86 points and is third with 39 assists.
Center Evgeny Kuznetsov has had a rebound season with 74 points (23 goals, 51 assists) in 72 games after scoring 29 points (nine goals, 20 assists) in 41 games last season. Right wing Tom Wilson has set NHL career-highs with 24 goals, 28 assists and 52 points in 71 games.
John Carlson is fifth in the NHL among defensemen with 67 points (15 goals, 52 assists) in 71 games, reaching 50 assists for the fourth time in his 13 NHL seasons.
With 10 players who have scored at least 10 goals -- Ovechkin, Wilson, Kuznetsov, Carlson, Oshie (10), forwards Conor Sheary (17), Garnet Hathaway (13), Lars Eller (12) and Nic Dowd (10), and defenseman Dmitry Orlov (12) -- Washington is eighth in the NHL in scoring (3.40 goals per game). However the Capitals are sixth in the NHL allowing 29.2 shots per game and 15th giving up 2.95 goals per game.
Forward Connor McMichael (nine goals) leads an NHL-high nine Capitals rookies to score at least one goal this season.
The Capitals were 30th on the power play at 13.9 percent through their first 44 games. But with Backstrom and Oshie returning to health, they are fourth at 27.7 percent (28 for 101) in 31 games since Jan. 28. For the season, Washington is 10th on the penalty kill at 81.8 percent.
The Capitals supplemented their forward depth before the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline by acquiring Marcus Johansson, who has scored 25 points (seven goals, 18 assists) in 62 games this season, from the Seattle Kraken, and Johan Larsson, who has scored 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists) in 36 games, from the Arizona Coyotes.
Here is a look at the Capitals' path to a playoff berth:
Most Valuable Player:Ovechkin is on pace for his ninth 50-goal season, which would tie
Wayne Gretzky
and
Mike Bossy
for the
most in NHL history
. He also would pass Johnny Bucyk (35 years, 308 days in 1970-71 for the Boston Bruins) as the oldest player with a 50-goal season. Ovechkin's 39 assists are his most since he had 53 in 2010-11. He leads the Capitals with 15 power-play goals, including breaking the NHL record previously held by Dave Andreychuk with the 275th of his NHL career Dec. 31.
Unsung Hero:Sheary has fit anywhere coach Peter Laviolette has needed him to play, from the top line with Ovechkin and Kuznetsov to the fourth line with Dowd and Hathaway. Sheary's 38 points (17 goals, 21 assists) in 64 games are his most since he scored an NHL career-high 53 points (23 goals, 30 assists) in 61 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016-17.
Memorable Moment: Ovechkin scored his 767th goal to pass Jaromir Jagr for third in NHL history with 4:58 left in the third period of a 4-3 shootout win against the New York Islanders on March 15. Ovechkin, who has increased his career total to 777 goals, previously passed Marcel Dionne (731) for fifth in goals against the New York Rangers on Oct. 13 and passed Brett Hull (741) for fourth against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Nov. 12.
