It was just after 10 pm on Monday night when the Washington Capitals netted an empty net goal to push their lead to 6-3 and clinch a series victory in the first round. It was only a week ago that Capitals fans assumed they were headed into another playoff disappointment after being down 0-2 heading to Columbus. Washington, however, rattled off four straight wins behind the switch of netminders for game three (Grubauer to Holtby) and Ovechkin catching fire.

Nevertheless, the Capitals return to a position they are far too familiar with. For the third year in a row, they will face the Pittsburg Penguins in the second round playoffs. The Capitals have not made it to the Eastern Conference finals since 1998; the year where they advanced to the Stanley Cup.

This year will be different, right? The answer, history is not on their side. The Capitals are 0-7 in their last seven meetings in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. This is their 11^thplayoff reunion with the Pittsburg Penguins as they have the edge Washington 9-1 in the first 10 matchups.

The Caps are coming in to the second round as hot as they have ever been. More importantly, Alex Ovechkin is hotter than he has ever been in the playoffs. The Capitals star has eight points in six games and is only going to get hotter going into the series against their archrival.  The healthy, complete, Capitals team looks like the best one to beat the Penguins in years.

However, if the Capitals come out on the victorious side on Thursday evening, don’t get your hopes too high. The Capitals are 8-2 all-time in Game 1’s against the Penguins. It’s also best to hope that the Caps are able to wrap up a win in regulation, as the Penguins are 11-2 with an extra period of hockey.

Nevertheless, Washington’s weather and political spectrum have been unpredictable as of late; can the Caps add sports to that list?