The Capitals could achieve this as soon as tonight!

The Capitals are visiting the Lightning tonight in Tampa Bay. This game on the road has a lot of consequences for both teams. 

A straight win in regular time by the Capitals would have them secure the first spot in the playoffs. 

Clinching a playoff spot on March 18th is not unheard of, but it's still decently quick by today's league standard. The Ovechkin gang shows no sign of slowing down and a win tonight will carry them a long way. 

On the flip side, the game has consequences for the Lightning too. The team has 27.1% odds to make it to the playoffs before tonight's encounter. If they win, that percentage could jump as high as 36.7%. If they lose though, it would dive to 19.5%. At this stage, every percentage counts! 

Safe to say, tonight's matchup will be interesting.