The Washington Capitals became the eighth team in the eastern conference to reach 100 points in the same season. That's the first time in NHL history. Sadly for the Capitals though, unless they can surpass the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Metropolitan Division, their road in the Stanley Cup playoffs will likely be extremely difficult.

On Thursday, it became that much more difficult to pass the Penguins in the standings. Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin was ruled out again for Thursday night's game against the New York Islanders.

Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette did however leave open the possibility that Ovechkin returns Friday for their season finale against the New York Rangers.

The Capitals have 100 points on the season with two games remaining. Meanwhile, the Penguins have 101 points but only one game left against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Ovechkin suffered an upper-body injury in Sunday's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He skated into the offensive zone and crashed hard into the boards, and was helped off the ice. The injury caused the Capitals forward to miss Tuesday's game against the Islanders. They lost that game lost 4-1. Now they get another shot at the Islanders on Thursday and desperately need the win.

If Washington is unable to surpass the Penguins in the standings, they will open the playoffs against the Florida Panthers. Florida has the best offense in the NHL and currently lead the race for the President's Trophy. However, if Washington does indeed pass the Penguins, they would match up against the Rangers in the first round.