The good news for the Washington Capitals is that this was all played with house money.

There couldn't have been too many people coming into the season envisioning a future where the Capitals were a playoff team, and those that did likely couldn't have envisioned them doing so with a minus-800 goal difference. (I don't remember what the number was without shootout goals and I don't feel like looking it up right now. So sue me. Spiritually, I'm close.)

So they don't just limp into the postseason, but kinda commando-crawl and there's a lot of blood and mud and barbed wire trailing behind them. One of those seasons.

But Alex Ovechkin got to 30 goals again, the young players on the roster were real contributors, making the playoffs if you're not gonna completely go in the tank – which they never