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(photo by Paul Bereswill)

The Washington Capitals were just nine seconds away from being .500 for the first time this season … and inexplicably let it slip away in heartbreaking fashion.

Roughly 24 hours after rallying to steal two points from the Buffalo Sabres by tying the game in the final minute and then earning a 4-3 shootout victory, the Caps allowed the script to be flipped by blowing a two-goal, third-period lead — punctuated with a game-tying goal by Philadelphia’s Kimmo Timonen with 9.5 seconds to play — and then blowing it in overtime, 5-4.

Had Washington lasted just 10 more seconds, everything would be great in our nation’s capital on a dreary Monday morning as the Capitals head into April. But because nothing is ever easy with this team, the Caps played just well enough over the weekend to get everyone’s hopes up and then imploded in spectacular fashion.

“We got a point there, but we obviously want two there,” said coach Adam Oates. “We let it get away.”

What happens next, boys and girls, is anyone’s guess. That’s because, with just 13 games remaining on the schedule, the Capitals have had a losing record every single day of the 2013 season. And yet, they still remain only one point out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Realistically, this isn’t a playoff-caliber team. Not this season, at least. But they’ve still almost managed to back their way into the postseason without actually playing anything close to a consistent brand of hockey. That’s how watered down the playoff hunt is this season.

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(photo by Brian Murphy)

With the NHL trade deadline less than a week away, the Washington Capitals have exactly three games left to decide what to do with second-line center Mike Ribeiro.

Okay, first and foremost, the front office needs to decide if this team is actually capable of making the playoffs this season. And while general manager George McPhee is at it, it probably wouldn’t hurt to re-evaluate whether or not the franchise’s core players — Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green — give Washington the best chance to ever hoist the Stanley Cup.

But realistically, that’s not something he’s likely to address in the next six days. So let’s stick with the first two questions — what to do about Ribeiro and can the Caps make the playoffs?

McPhee has three choices, which are: trade him, re-sign him or do nothing and risk losing him for nothing. Obviously the third option is the least appealing. Once Ribeiro hits the open market there is little to no reason to believe the Capitals would be able to retain his services.

If it becomes clear that the franchise and the player are not going to be able to agree on a new contract, then the front office has to ship him off for prospects and/or draft picks. I mean, if you’re going to lose the guy anyway, then at least get something in return for the guy. On that front, rumor has it both Chicago and Vancouver are interested in acquiring Ribeiro if/when Washington opts to send him packing.

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(photo by Scott Levy)

There is only one topic of conversation among fans of the Washington Capitals — what should the front office do with center Mike Ribeiro?

It’s no secret I feel like general manager George McPhee should do everything within reason to try and retain the talent playmaker, but there are plenty of fans who are opposed to that school of thought.

I see the first halfway decent center on the roster not named Nicklas Backstrom since Sergei Fedorov hung up his skates. I see a guy who plays a vital role on the powerplay and gives opponents a reason to pay attention to more than just Washington’s top line.

Others though, feel Ribeiro’s age and contract demands are more than enough reason to take the best deal available prior to the trade deadline.

With all of that in mind, I reached out to some of the best individuals and blogs on the local hockey beat and here’s what they each had to say.

1. With the trade deadline rapidly approaching, what should the Washington Capitals do about free-agent-to-be Mike Ribeiro?

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(photo by Paul Bereswill)

The 2013 Washington Capitals will make the postseason. There, I said it.

Now look, I know that’s an odd thing to say about a team that hasn’t spent a single day above .500 this entire season, but I’m telling you — these Caps are playoff bound.

Something has clicked over the last five games — with Washington winning four of five while outscoring opponents 19-8 — and suddenly the Capitals are a team playing solid and respectable hockey. The decision making has been better. The passing has been sharper. And, best of all, the team is scoring goals in bunches.

That, of course, starts with captain Alex Ovechkin, who has absolutely found his mojo during the team’s recent hot streak. Ovechkin has six goals and three assists for nine points during the last five games and people are no longer talking about whether or not the switch from left wing to the right side is a bad move.

Even with his close-cropped haircut, The Great 8 has looked like one of the league’s most lethal snipers while scoring in five-straight games and would now be on pace to score 41 goals over the course of an 82-game season.

And why is Ovechkin lighting the lamp with such frequency these days? One of the biggest reasons has been coach Adam Oates’ decision to reunite the Capitals captain with center Nicklas Backstrom on the team’s top line.

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(photo by Joe Sargent)

Well damn. So much for the fairytale ending for the 2013 Washington Capitals.

With forward Brooks Laich returning to action for the first time this season, and with the added bonus of a healthy defenseman Dmitry Orlov making his debut this season as well, the hope was that these two players would bolster the lineup and provide a much-needed spark to a team in a season-long slump.

That, of course, didn’t happen as Washington dropped a winnable game by a score of 2-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Capitals are really starting to look like a squad with no magic pill to help them awake from their slumber.

Forget, for a brief moment, that the Penguins are the Capitals’ biggest rival. That had little to do with the outcome of this one game.

Instead, notice how Pittsburgh has been constructed. Pay close attention to the depth up and down that roster and how a team without the services of two of the best players in the game today — forward Evgeni Malkin and defenseman Kris Letang — can adapt and overcome.

Even if you hate them, you’ve got to respect that the Penguins are currently riding a 10-game winning streak without two of their top players. Pittsburgh has drafted well and added a few key free agents and that’s why they’re currently the top team in the Eastern Conference.

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(photo by Greg Fiume)

When it comes to hockey, I am a traditionalist in the purest sense of the word.

To me, places like Quebec and Hartford are much more deserving of franchises than most locations below the Mason-Dixon line. Shootouts are terrible and should be removed from professional hockey as soon as humanly possible. And while some might see it as barbaric, I don’t ever want to see a day when fighting is completely eliminated from the sport.

Naturally, my connection to the Washington Capitals has much more to do with the “good ol’ days” of Al Iafrate, Dino Ciccarelli and Bobby Carpenter than it does with Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green.

So it should come as no surprise that I have never completely been on board with the Caps playing in the Southeast Division. With apologies to the hockey hotbeds of Florida and North Carolina, it’s never felt right to see the Capitals competing against the likes of the Lighting, Panthers and Hurricanes for bragging rights.

While “Rock the Red” era has ushered in plenty of regular season success — including division titles, Presidents’ Trophies and more — I’ve always longed for a return to the old Patrick Division and the heated rivalries with teams like the Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers.

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(photo by Rob Carr)

Don’t look now boys and girls, but the Washington Capitals continue to inch their way towards respectability.

The playoffs are still unlikely and there’s still plenty to improve upon (namely the 28th-ranked penalty kill unit in hockey), but Washington appears to be heading in the right direction after a sluggish start to the 2013 season.

Consider this: no team in the Eastern Conference has won more often than the Capitals over the last 10 games, who have gone 7-3-0 since Feb. 9. In fact, the only teams with more wins in the entire NHL over the last 10 games are the Chicago Blackhawks and the Los Angeles Kings.

That’s not too shabby.

And yet, the Caps are still tied for the fewest points in the conference. That’s what a 2-8-1 start will do to a franchise trying to retool itself on the fly.

The most interesting aspect of Washington’s recent turnaround is that it’s largely coming from non-traditional areas. For years, the Capitals happily billed themselves as the “Young Guns” and a bunch of spare parts.

Well, here’s how those cornerstone players have fared through 21 games this season:

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