A few things fell into place to allow the Washington Capitals to win five out of six on their recent road-trip. Nicklas Backstrom blossomed into a legitimate first-line center, Cristobal Huet was a difference-maker in net and Alex Ovechkin was his usual brilliant self.

With three games left, they have discovered a formula that works — get by on average defense, good goaltending and average offense when the Ovechkin line isn’t the ice. Then, rely on the top line to either score or draw a penalty so the high-octane power play (much improved since the addition of Sergei Fedorov) can go to work.

Their 8-2 record over the last ten games is third best in the NHL and is matched only by the top-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins and Western Conference contender San Jose. Head coach Bruce Boudreau’s squad is white-hot right now.

Unfortunately, none of the other playoff contenders have done them any favors. The Boston Bruins need to earn just three points with three games left to clinch a playoff birth, so they’re most likely in.

The Capitals have to hope that the Philadelphia Flyers lose two of their final three games (they play the Penguins twice). Or, they can win and leap past Carolina to earn the Southeast Division crown and get the third seed.

That’s why the stage is set for Tuesday night’s match-up at the Verizon Center, as the Carolina Hurricanes try to stave off the hard-charging Capitals. A Washington win in regulation would put the two teams in a first-place tie. A Capitals loss dashes the team’s divisional hopes and likely their playoff aspirations as well.

This will be just like a playoff game. All biases aside, if I were a casual fan with no rooting interest in the Capitals, I would love to see them make the playoffs for several reasons.

1) If they slide into the eighth seed it sets up a potential first-round match-up with the Pittsburgh Penguins, or “Crosby vs. Ovechkin – Part 1.” I wonder if the league wants that to happen at all.

2) Unlike the 1990’s dump-and-chase Caps, this is a made-for-TV team. They rely on pretty skating and fancy passing, don’t play much defense and have a goaltender who can steal an occasional win.

3) They have a flair for the dramatic. When the Caps win, they usually do so by coming back late in the third period or winning in overtime.

Ovechkin and his teammates may win all three remaining games and still miss out on the playoffs. Those of us who have had the pleasure of watching them over the stretch run, know that hockey fans everywhere would miss out on quite a show.