The Washington Capitals have had an up and down season so far as we head into the Olympic break. At one point they were leading the Metropolitan division (December 15) but have since lost 14 of their last 20 games. After falling as low as seventh in the Metro they are currently 6th right now. Can they make the playoffs? Find out here.

The Capitals aren’t a playoff team this season. I know some may disagree but Alexander Ovechkin can’t carry the whole team on his back. He has 38 goals but the goaltending and the defense have to step it up and start to play well as well. Too many teams have started to play up to potential during the Capitals’ slide down the standings. New York (Rangers), Philadelphia, Carolina and now even Columbus and the New York Islanders are all playing at an extremely high level.

 Washington just hasn’t impressed me that much this season beyond Ovechkin who is pretty much keeping the Caps alive in the playoff chase. With no other offensive help in Washington the Capitals seem to be a one-trick pony. Braden Holtby had looked like he was the goaltender of the future but has struggled all season, even playing some games in Hershey for “conditioning”.

A lot can change in the next few months as the playoff race really starts to heat up. Once we get to the late stages of March and the early part of April, we will truly see if the Capitals have what it takes to go on a nice run and make it into the playoffs. Washington has what it takes to get in on paper. Nicklas Backstrom, Mikhail Grabovski and Mike Green are world-class players but have yet to consistently play at the level of their captain. We’ll see what happens, as we get closer to the NHL playoffs in a couple months time, but the Capitals have too many teams to pass to reach the playoffs. Not even another superhuman effort from Ovechkin can get this team back to the playoffs.