Brooks Laich is doing his part to get the Capitals into the playoffs.
The last time the Washington Capitals had a game with these kind of implications, U.S. President Bill Clinton was about to get impeached for a blue dress that never made it to the dry cleaners fast enough.
Here we are, a decade later, and Clinton's wife is setting out to become the most powerful man woman on the planet while looking to show hubby who, uh, really wears the pants in the family.
What's that overused saying? The more things change, the more they remain the same?
And, yes, the Crap — er, Capitals — are no longer an NHL punchline.
Playing their most important game since they went on an improbable run to the Stanley Cup final in 1998, the Capitals answered the bell Tuesday, trumping the Carolina Hurricanes just beyond the shadow of the Washington Monument to keep their playoff hopes alive with five days left in the regular season.
Check out the Eastern Conference standings and tell me they don't look like something out of the Twilight Zone.
There are the Capitals, tied for the division lead and potential third seed, yet one point back of eighth and the final playoff spot.
Whowouldathunkit?
Generally, in D.C., daydreaming of playoff hockey ends sometime between the second week of October and Halloween, at least among those who know there is a hockey team in town.
Not anymore.
Led by the best hockey player in the world and a goaltender who has found a new lease on life, the Capitals are finishing off a season-ending tear that could see them sneak up for a division title or the final berth in the East. Either way, they are going to need a little help.
Oh, and they might talk to the mechanic about a new set of shocks. That bandwagon is taking on a whole lot of added weight these days.
Still, the Caps may come up just short. As of now, Carolina holds the more-wins tiebreaker and with just two home dates left on the schedule — against the Panthers and Lightning, no less — odds of a division title are probably tilted in the 'Canes' favor.
No worries. However this plays out over the final days of the '08 campaign, being on the playoff bubble won't be a problem down the road.
And those important games are going to become a little more frequent than every ten years or so.