For the second time since the NHL lockout, the Capitals beat the Pittsburgh Penguins last night. The success is slightly cheapened given that Sidney Crosby, the NHL’s MVP, missed last night’s game with a high ankle sprain, but it was still a great chance for the Capitals to make some noise and earn important points in what is turning into an actual playoff race in the Southeast division.

The Capitals are now two wins out of first place in the division and an automatic playoff spot. They’ve also played two fewer games than the division leading Carolina Hurricanes. In the last month, no team in the division has played as well as Washington, so the Caps have a credible case to make the playoffs this year.

Of course, we believed the same thing at this time last year, before troubles with injuries and a complete inability to win a shootout turned things for the worse. Right now the Caps are playing well in spite of several key injuries and have won two straight shootouts against teams that are good at them. Nothing is cast in stone yet, but this could be the year.