Since I was a kid growing up in Hartford, Connecticut, my favorite two team sports have been baseball and hockey. Tonight, the NHL season ends for the Washington Capitals, and all they need is 1 point (a tie, overtime loss, or win) to win the Southeast Division and make the playoffs. If they don't get a point against the Florida Panthers tonight at Verizon Center, they don't make the playoffs. That's it, sudden death or life for Alex Ovechkin and Company, starting at 7 pm this evening. Go Cap's!
P.S. By the way, this situation is a bit ironic, as a Cap's victory tonight will knock out the Carolina Hurricanes -- formerly, the Hartford Whalers, my favorite team growing up -- from the playoffs. Serves 'em right for moving from Hartford! :)
UPDATE 7:30 pm: Capitals are leading 1-0 (T. Fleischmann (B. Laich) 7:19 1st Pd)
UPDATE 8:10 pm: Panthers score a powerplay goal to tie it up, 1-1. (K. Kreps 6:46 2nd Pd)
UPDATE 8:29 pm: Capitals lead 2-1 after a goal by Sergei Federov! (S. Fedorov (A. Semin, M. Green) 15:03 2nd Pd)
UPDATE 8:57 pm: Power play goal by Alexander Semin makes it 3-1 Capitals! (A. Semin (N. Backstrom, S. Fedorov) 2:21 3rd Pd)
UPDATE 9:30 pm: Caps win 3-1 and go to NHL playoffs after winning 7 games in a row to close out the season. Score! :)
I suppose if you had to put odds on it, the Caps have an edge, but they have been known to blow these things in the past. Florida is probably kind of cocky right now having beat Carolina, but now we have to play them...
In reality, the Caps don't need a win - a tie is sufficient, even if they lose in OT.