Thursday night turned out to be a pretty good night for the Washington Capitals organization. Their 4-2 win over the Florida Panthers clinched a fifth consecutive playoff berth, and also kept alive their hopes of winning the Southeast Division yet again, which would continue a streak that goes back to the 2007-08 season.
More good news: with the Colorado Avalanche being eliminated from the playoffs due to their 5-2 loss at home to the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Capitals are now guaranteed to have one of the first 14 picks in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.
The Capitals have Colorado's first-round pick as a result of the trade last summer that sent goaltender Semyon Varlamov (pictured) to the Avalanche. With Colorado missing the playoffs for the fourth time in the past six years, we now know that selection will be somewhere in the top-14. That pick will be entered into the NHL draft lottery, which will take place on Tuesday night, and if the Capitals win they would move up four spots in the draft order, which could put that selection in the top-10. The pick will be no lower than 14th.
Either way, that's some pretty solid value for the Capitals. Entering Thursday night, Varlamov had appeared in 52 games for the Avalanche and posted a .914 save percentage.
The Capitals followed the trade by signing free agent Tomas Vokoun to a one-year contract worth a cap hit of $1.5 million, and also still had youngsters Michal Neuvirth and Braden Holtby in the system.
Unfortunately, for the short-term, Vokoun and Neuvirth have both suffered injuries over the stretch run of the regular season, with Neuvirth having to leave Thursday's game against Florida in the second period.
Photo: Getty Images
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