The Capitals beat the lowly Florida Panthers 5-2 last night, and now stand just one victory (against these same Panthers) from clinching the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
They now have 107 points, which gives them a four point lead over the Philadelphia Flyers. The Capitals can also clinch the Conference crown if the Flyers lose either one of their remaining two games against the Islanders or the Sabres. Even if the Capitals lose in a shootout to the Panthers, they will still get one more point, and clinch the conference. If they lose outright to the Panthers and the Flyers sweep their last two games of the year, then they will be tied at 207 points, and it will come down to a tiebreaker; which the Flyers would likely win based on goal differential.
But we don't need to worry about all those contingency plans. For the Caps, just win the next game, and you have home-ice advantage throughout the Easter Conference Playoffs. It's that easy.
For more on the Capitals, check out Japers' Rink.