The Capitals have reached the All-Star break in a position many expected them to be — close to the playoffs. Right now Washington is one point behind in the Southeast division and three points away from the 8th Eastern Conference seed. How they got there is the surprising part, climbing from last place on Thanksgiving, when Glen Hanlon was replaced by Bruce Boudreau, to this point. They’ve been hot, playing high scoring, exciting hockey. Alex Ovechkin leads the league in goals and is third in points. Mike Green has been one of the highest goal scoring defensemen. Alexander Semin and Victor Kozlov have also recently come to life, scoring goals with regularity in the last few weeks. Meanwhile, the Caps have been without the services of their #1 center Michael Nylander, who is done for the season with a torn rotator cuff and captain Chris Clark who has been on the bench with an injured groin.

Caps owner Ted Leonsis has been saying “we have miles to go before we sleep” all season long, while expecting this kind of position in the standings. A lot can happen between now and April, but at the break things are certainly looking up.

In other news, gentleman and scholar Donald Brashear was signed to a one-year extension (washingtoncaps.com).