How the Caps can clinch a playoff spot on Thursday originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The Capitals host the Pittsburgh Penguins Thursday (7 p.m., NBC Sports Washington) for a chance to keep hold of first place in the East Division, but also potentially punch their tickets to the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Sitting in first place with seven games remaining and a 10-point lead over the fifth-place New York Rangers, the suspense is already over. The Caps are going to make the playoffs, but they have an opportunity to make it official on Thursday if they can get a little help.
Washington has 68 points with seven games remaining and the Rangers have 58 points with six games remaining. That means the magic number for the Caps — the number of points Washington needs to put itself out of reach of New York and thus guarantee a playoff spot — is three. That’s three points gained by the Caps and/or lost by New York.
A win is two points, so Caps fans should also keep an eye on the Rangers-New York Islanders game because the result in that game matters.
These are the scenarios that will clinch a playoff spot for Washington on Thursday:
If either Washington loses in regulation or the Rangers win in any fashion on Thursday, then the Caps will have to wait until Saturday when both teams are active again regardless of what happens in the other game.
