The premier professional team in D.C., the Washington Capitals have recently notched a few milestones.

• Best record in the NHL — The Caps have won the President’s Trophy for the first time ever. The celebration will be subdued.
• Sweeping Pittsburgh – For the first time ever, the Caps swept the Penguins in the regular season. That certainly pleases me, but it won’t matter if the Penguins beat the Caps four times in the playoffs, should they face each other.
• First place in La Coupe Hauxer – Out of the four teams in the contest, the Flyers, Penguins and Devils, the Caps have the best winning percentage. They did last year as well, but fell in game 7 of the playoffs, costing me the award.
• The franchise record is now 1214-1214-303-71 or a precisely mediocre .500.

Additionally, Alex Ovechkin is battling for the goals and points titles. He is tied with Sidney Crosby for the goals lead and one point behind San Jose Sharks center Henrik Sedin for points. Ovechkin has done this while missing ten games. Truth be told, he has been slumping since the Olympics break. He is a strong contender for the Hart, Pearson, Richard and Ross trophies. Those are nice, but not the one he really wants.

The playoffs start one week from today and this superior regular season becomes irrelevant. There is only one validation for this team — the Stanley Cup.

As owner Ted Leonsis says, “we have miles to go before we sleep.”