Tonight it’s draft lottery time in the NHL once more. For the last four seasons, this has been the day that we Caps fans cross our fingers and hope that the team is lucky enough to get a chance at a player who will help them do better in the future. This year, though, Washington will not participate, because the Capitals have made the playoffs.

The Carolina Hurricanes lost their final game to the Florida Panthers on Friday night and the Caps beat the same Florida Panthers on Saturday, breaking a tie with Carolina for the Southeast Division championship and the third playoff seed in the East. This also technically gives the Caps the sixth place regular season finish for the 30-team NHL. Given that rookie coach Bruce Boudreau took over when they were last in the East, and that they were 14th in the East until New Years, they have made the biggest comeback in NHL history.

Over the weekend, Caps forward Alexander Ovechkin clinched the Art Ross trophy for scoring the most points this season and the Maurice “Rocket” Richard trophy for scoring the most goals. Ovechkin, whom the Caps picked when they won the first pick in the 2004 draft lottery, is one of twelve players ever to score 65 goals in a single season. Because of his historic individual achievement and the amazing effect his performance has had on the team, he will almost definitely win the Hart trophy as the player most valuable to his team. The going rate for players who have won one of these trophies has been climbing steadily past $8 million per season, so the Caps got quite a deal when they signed Ovechkin for under $11 million per season until his late 30s.

Speaking of hardware, Boudreau is a favorite for the Jack Adams trophy as the league’s best coach. Boudreau deserves much of the credit for the team’s rise, as he showed continued confidence in young players like Mike Green, Tomas Fleischmann, Alexander Semin and Nicklas Backstrom.

Backstrom, whom the Caps picked up with a fourth overall lottery pick in ’06, should win the Calder trophy as the rookie of the year. While he is second in rookie scoring by two points to Chicago’s Boyd Kane, Backstrom consistently provided great passes to help Ovechkin reach 65 goals. Backstrom also provided a strong defensive presence so that Ovechkin could concentrate on scoring and the team could keep winning. Kane’s Blackhawks lacked that stability and missed the playoffs.

Later this week, we’ll have a preview of the Capitals’ first round playoff series with the Philadelphia Flyers. Buckle up!