The Capitals have won four of their last five and have surged to fourth in the Metro and ninth in the East, four points behind the Flyers for the final playoff spot (with two games in hand) – and now, it's not just Cakes who thinks Coach Carbs can get the fellas back to the postseason.
Of course, Washington has had several cycles of the opposite right now, but Monumental Sports Network's Alan May is ready to ride the wave as long as it goes.
"It's kind of cyclical – it seems like it's two weeks of hell and then two weeks of kind of awesome hockey," May said. "Hopefully this, this trend ends and it just sticks to the awesome hockey, because it's been a lot of fun lately. My broadcast partner's bouncing off the walls when the Caps have those games where they score a ton of goals and don't allow as many in, so it makes it a lot better to cover these games! As long as they're in this hunt, every night is a playoff-type atmosphere for the Caps."
The Caps went from potential sellers to possibly in the market for some reinforcements, and with the trade deadline next Friday, a lot can still happen.
"I would think the next little bit here, the next two or three games determines everything. Tonight's a huge game in Detroit, and they've got to win it," May said. "They've got to win that game against Philadelphia because these are two teams that they're chasing. The Flyers are in a Top 3 spot, but they don't have as many points as the two teams in Detroit and Tampa. It's hard decisions, and from what I'm hearing out there, they're offering a lot for what the Caps have: kind of older players that they're after, guys that are more proven that way you can get to have some playoff success to add to their roster. So this is a very tough time and no one likes to be part of it. No one likes throwing in the towel."
Perhaps at this point, though, selling some of those vets and giving more time to the kids is in the best interest of the franchise long-term?
"What we've seen lately out of all these young players that are coming up, I think that championship run last year in Hershey with the younger team is really paying dividends," May said. "Last night was very exciting to see how fast the players were skating, getting up and down the ice, the enthusiasm in which they were playing the game, and the confidence. That was very impressive last night, and at the same time, you're creating confidence within young players to start worrying about and thinking about being an everyday NHL player. So no matter what happens, it's going to be for the benefit of the franchise."
Take a listen to May's entire segment, which touches on the immediate schedule, the goaltending situation, and more!
