The Capitals, who were the last team to qualify in last season's finale, are the first team in the NHL to clinch a playoff berth this season and the first to hit the 100-point mark. The team is also guaranteed a top-three finish in the Metropolitan Division.

Instead of having to sweat out Washington’s remaining games, Spencer Carbery and his staff can make decisions that will set the Caps up to be ultra-prepared when the playoffs begin.

The Avs, not counting the goaltenders, were actually worse from early December through late January. Nichushkin missed half of this time. Casey Mittelstadt and Ross Colton, the two guys who stepped up to support Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Rantanen at the start of the year, went into prolonged funks.