Going into the All-Star break, the Washington Capitals were 22nd in the league in points, 19th in winning percentage and had lost four straight. Things weren’t looking great.
Since returning from the break, however, they have looked like a different team, going 9-5-1 since the All-Star weekend and 7-2-1 in their last 10 game. They took themselves from “no way in hell are they making the playoffs” to insert meme of girl who drank kombucha for the first time. They are giving people hope that the boys in red could actually return to the playoffs.
Adding to this sudden burst (or sliver, at least) of hope is the fact that almost all of the teams around them seem to be completely taking themselves out of the race.