Can Capitals bounce back at the halfway mark of the season?

To ask if the Washington Capitals can bounce back this season seems ridiculous.

You have the glass half full fans that would argue that they have already begun to. Then you have the glass half empty fans who point to the other night’s performance against the Philadelphia Flyers as an example of why they haven’t turned a corner yet.

Entering tonight’s rematch against the Flyers, the Capitals are 23-15-6 for 52 points and fourth in the Metropolitan Division. They’re three points behind the New York Rangers. They’re five behind the New Jersey Devils and seven behind the first place Carolina Hurricanes.

The Capitals are four points ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first Wild Card spot.

The question is, now that Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson are back, can the Caps get hot and catch the Hurricanes for the top of the Metropolitan Division?

I think the Caps can catch fire. They just need to find the right line combinations and defensive pairs and they are working through things in the room as we speak.

I don’t believe scratching Dylan Strome is the answer however but that’s what we will see tonight. He skated with the extras at the Caps optional morning skate.

The best part of the Caps turnaround has by far been Alex Ovechkin continuing to amaze us night after night. Now he’s past Gordie Howe with only Wayne Gretzky left to chase.

And that’s the exciting part as Caps games continue to be the hottest ticket in town. The Commanders didn’t make the playoffs. The Wizards have been up and down. But now that the Caps have caught fire, coming out to the games has been worth it once again.

When we were just a quarter into the season, it looked like the playoffs were out of the question. Now that we’re at the midway point and the team is getting hot, it looks like the playoffs are a possibility.