First of all, let’s remember that the Capitals would be nowhere right now without Jeff Halpern. The Bethesda native, lifelong Caps fan and former Caps captain scored with five minutes left on Saturday night to help the last place Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Hurricanes were apparently still reeling last night, when the Capitals crushed them 4-1 at Verizon Center. The Caps played a tough, physical game. Alexander Semin and Alexander Ovechkin each flattened Canes superstar Eric Staal, setting a tone that carried over onto the scoreboard. Ovechkin’s brutal cross-check on Staal, delivered in defense of Cristobal Huet, is yet another reason he’s the favorite for the NHL’s most valuable player award. A bigger reason is that the Caps and the Hurricanes are now tied for the last playoff spot in the East.

If the season ended today, the Hurricanes would be in the playoffs based on tiebreakers, but each team has two games left. The Caps host Tampa Bay on Thursday and Florida on Saturday. The Hurricanes host Tampa tonight, and Florida on Friday. The schedule favors the Caps, who get to rest up from last night and face each team after they have been worn down by Carolina, but it could still just as easily come down to the heroics of the first lifelong Caps fan ever to play in the NHL.

The Sporting News says if the Caps make the playoffs, Ovechkin should win the Hart trophy. That’s the understatement of the year. More importantly, if the Caps make the playoffs, they should ask what the Lightning want for Halpern this summer.