Before last night the Florida Panthers had beaten the Capitals five straight times. In those five meetings, the Panthers were struggling to make the playoffs. Last night was Florida’s first game since their elimination from playoff contention, and their lack of motivation showed from the start.

The Capitals, possibly by accident, capitalized on their lackadaisical opposition to claim a meaningless victory over their fellow non-competitors. Alexander Ovechkin scored his forty-fourth goal of the season on an open one-timer from the slot, as the four Panthers surrounding him made no move to stop him. Olaf Kolzig stopped all twenty-seven Florida shots for his first shutout of the season. Kolzig’s determination to win even after hope for the playoffs has faded is one of the reasons he has been nominated for this year’s Masterson trophy, which honors sportsmanship. It’s also a reason he won’t start tonight.

Unfortunately, the win moves the Capitals into to sole possession of twenty-seventh place, which moves them down to fourth most likely to pick first overall in this summer’s draft (decided by a weighted lottery, where one winner moves up three spaces). Of course, twenty-eighth place Los Angeles plays twenty-ninth place Phoenix tonight and again on Friday. If Los Angeles pick up three points in those two games (the NHL gives teams two points for a win, and one point for losing in overtime or by shootout), the Capitals can still fall back to twenty-eighth place.

Photograph of what the Caps will start practicing on Sunday by Flickr user Rory