Washington is celebrating in the drama for the final playoff spot

The die is cast in the NHL: The Washington Capitals have taken the last available playoff spot - much to the annoyance of the Detroit Red Wings, who came away empty-handed in the heart-stopping finale.

17 April 2024

From: fop

The 2023/24 NHL regular season ends on Thursday. The top three teams in each division qualify directly for the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs. There are also two teams via a wild card. These are the Tampa Bay Lightning, who have already bought the ticket early, and the Washington Capitals.

For Detroit Red Wings, another win against the Montreal Canadiens in the long-distance duel with the capital city team was not enough to make it into the NHL playoffs. The 5:4 in the penalty shootout was not enough because the Washington Capitals won 2:1 against the Philadelphia Flyers in the parallel game and defended the last wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Detroit is left behind when it comes to crime

The Red Wings have been waiting eight years to participate in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Just one day after the dramatic 5-4 home game against Montreal, the game in Canada was hard to beat in terms of excitement. David Peron equalized to 4:4 five seconds before the end of regular time. When it went to a penalty shootout after the goalless overtime, the game in Philadelphia was already over and the Red Wings were robbed of all chances in their last game of the season.

Patrick Kane and the Red Wings defeated Montreal again, but it wasn't enough to make the playoffs. © APA / GREGORY SHAMUS

The Caps' 2-1 winning goal came via empty net because the Flyers, who still had a minimal chance of making the playoffs, had to take the full risk. Alexander Ovechkin and Co. are making a surprising return to the playoffs after just one year of absence and have qualified nine times in the last ten years.