Caps come up big, return to playoffs

PHILADELPHIA — For the Washington Capitals, it all came down to Game 82. Six-plus months of wins, losses, injuries and triumphs, at times looking like a surefire playoff team and at others looking like they would be in contention for another top-10 draft pick, boiled down to one final game.

The last time Washington’s postseason fate was determined in the 82nd game of the regular season was 16 years ago, the first time the Capitals made the Stanley Cup playoffs in the Alex Ovechkin era. A decade and a half later, trying to make the playoffs — and give the core that started back then what might be its final appearance in the postseason — Washington faced a must-win matchup with the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center.

Two points, whether earned in regulation, overtime or a shootout, was all the Capitals needed to secure the second wild-card position in the Eastern Conference. Philadelphia needed to win in regulation — and get help from the Detroit Red Wings — to stay alive.

In a tightly contested matchup that went down to the wire, Washington emerged victorious, 2-1, thanks to an empty-net tally from winger T.J. Oshie with three minutes left. Goaltender Charlie Lindgren, who started for the second time in as many nights and the third time in four days, made 27 saves to lift Washington back into the postseason. Samuel Ersson stopped 16 shots for the Flyers.

After missing out last season, the Capitals will return to the playoffs and face the New York Rangers in a first-round series.

Before the game, Capitals Coach Spencer Carbery implored his team to start on the front foot and play without fear.

“I feel like the last few games has given our group a little bit of confidence as we go into these games where there’s so much at stake,” Carbery said. “When you get into these situations … confidence and playing on your front foot, playing with a little bit of extra swagger, to me is really, really important. The last thing that you want to do is be hesitant and fearful of the outcome.”

Washington did as Carbery asked in the opening minutes. Oshie rang a wrist shot off the post just 15 seconds in, and the Capitals looked to be in control.

Fittingly for the way this season has gone for Washington, Game 82 wasn’t without its quirks. Midway through the first period, a shot from Joel Farabee deflected up into the air after a save by Lindgren. The officials lost sight of the puck while it was in midair and blew the whistle, but when the puck finally landed, it bounced off Farabee, then the stick of Washington winger Tom Wilson and into the net. After an eight-minute review, as referees Kelly Sutherland and Eric Furlatt conferred with the NHL’s situation room in Toronto, it was ruled not to be a goal — giving the Capitals a significant early boost.

But Philadelphia, angered by the review not going its way and spurred on by an incensed crowd, clicked into gear and began to push back. It took the Capitals until 18:08 to get a puck past Ersson; Ovechkin deflected a point shot from defenseman Dylan McIlrath with the shaft of his stick, and the puck bounced off the ice and over Ersson’s shoulder.

Ovechkin’s explosive celebration, flinging himself into the glass before turning and pointing to McIlrath, underscored just how much a return to the postseason would mean to the 38-year-old.

In the second period, the effects of Washington’s win over Boston on Monday — contrasted with the freshness of the Flyers, who had been idle since Saturday — became clear. Philadelphia steadily built momentum, wearing down the Capitals on shift after shift as the visitors began to fight an uphill battle.

It was unsurprising, then, when a deflection by Erik Johnson tied the score with 7:31 remaining in the second period; it was only unsurprising that the Flyers didn’t manage to take the lead, given the volume of high-quality shots that Lindgren had to fight off after the tying goal.

Much of the third period was an exercise in just trying to stay afloat. Philadelphia had more energy, more life and what felt like more hope, and Washington hung on for dear life. The game remained tied — a tight-checking, playoff-style showing on both sides befitting the stakes — well into the final minutes.

A point earned by the Red Wings for going to overtime in Montreal eliminated the Flyers from playoff contention with just over three minutes remaining, but Philadelphia Coach John Tortorella nonetheless elected to pull Ersson for an extra attacker — no more than a minute after Detroit’s late equalizer.

Seconds later, Oshie fired the puck into the vacated net to give Washington the lead. Ersson again was pulled, forcing the Capitals to defend a six-on-five advantage for the Flyers while clinging to a one-goal lead.

There was no other way, in a season that saw Washington win 19 one-goal games before Tuesday’s final matchup, that it could end. The Capitals held on and will return to the Stanley Cup playoffs.