#CapsPreds Postgame Notebook: Preseason For The Postseason

Thursday night's game between the Caps and the Nashville Predators held little meaning for Washington. Having already sewn up the Metro Division crown and with no upward or downward mobility in their postseason seeding situation, Thursday's game was a mere playoff tune-up for the Caps.

Not so for the Predators, who entered Thursday's game with the best record in the league, but nothing beyond a playoff berth locked up. Nashville took care of that business in Washington, defeating the Caps 4-3 to nail down the top spots in the Central Division and the Western Conference, as well as the Presidents' Trophy, all in one fell swoop. The division title, conference crown and Presidents' Trophy are all firsts for the Predators, who began their NHL existence nearly two decades ago, in 1998-99.

Back in mid-November, the Caps went into Nashville and were soundly whipped 6-2. In a game that meant nothing to them on Thursday, they showed they can skate with and hang with the league's top team, even if they came out on the wrong end of the result.

"They're a good benchmark," says Caps right wing Tom Wilson of the Predators. They're a good hockey team. You see in the last couple of minutes there, they were pretty desperate in getting the win. That's definitely a page you can take out of their book. They are blocking shots and doing the little things right, and that's something we try to do.

"I think we played fairly well at times. We can obviously tighten some stuff up. Match-ups are big in the postseason, and whoever you play, you can take little things and implement them in your game."

Grand Celebration - Prior to Thursday night's game, the Caps feted captain Alex Ovechkin for playing in his 1,000thcareer NHL game, a milestone he achieved last Sunday in Pittsburgh.

Ovechkin was presented with the standard Tiffany crystal from the NHL, and the standard silver stick from the Capitals. His teammates chipped in to get him an all expense paid trip to Spain in August to see his European soccer team - FC Barcelona - play a home game. Alternate captains Nicklas Backstrom and Brooks Orpik came out to present Ovechkin with a Lionel Messi jersey; Messi is Ovechkin's favorite player.

The centerpiece of the pregame tribute was a moving five-minute pregame video that adeptly encapsulated Ovechkin's growing list of milestones, achievements, off-ice contributions to the community. It's a remarkable ride through his 13 seasons in the District, replete with well wishes from former teammates, Hall of Famers, fans, local youth hockey players and many others. The video also serves as an effective reminder of the impact Ovechkin has had on hockey in this area since he was drafted first overall back in June, 2004.

"It was an emotional video, obviously," says Ovechkin. "Lots of great players and persons were in that video, lots of great memories. Times fly. A thousand games already, and it goes fast.

Former Caps captain and local hockey hero Jeff Halpern and ex-Caps center and Hockey Hall of Famer Sergei Fedorov were among the well-wishers in the video tribute.

"Those guys were the leaders on the team in the years when they played," says Ovechkin. "They teach me a lot. Thanks for everybody who supported and said congratulations to me. It was a pretty special moment for my parents, my brother and my wife and all of my friends, too."

Eclipsing Eighty - Caps center Evgeny Kuznetsov had a big night on the scoresheet, netting a pair of goals and adding an assist on Ovechkin's power-play goal. With the three-point night, he has eclipsed the 80-point plateau for the first time in his NHL career. Kuznetsov has a career high 27 goals, and he is two assists shy of matching his career best in assists, too. He has 55 assists this season; he had 57 in 2015-16.

Kuznetsov is the first Caps player aside from Ovechkin or Backstrom to reach the 80-point plateau since Alexander Semin had 84 points (40 goals, 44 assists) in 2009-10.

Rocket Launcher -Ovechkin scored the Caps' first goal of the game on a Washington power play early in the second period, his 47thgoal of the season. He obviously still sits three goals shy of what would be his eighth 50-goal season with just one game to play, but he has a three-goal lead over Winnipeg's Patrik Laine (44) in his bid for a seventh Rocket Richard Trophy as the league's leading goal scorer.

Ovechkin was vying hard for more than the one goal in Thursday's game; he teed up a total of 13 shot attempts, but only four were on net. Eight of those shot tries missed the mark altogether.

Leader Of The Pack -Caps defenseman John Carlson also assisted on Ovechkin's power-play goal in Thursday's game, bumping the blueliner's point total up to 67 (15 goals, 52 assists) for the season in the process.

Carlson leads all NHL defensemen in scoring, and with one game remaining for all teams in the league aside from Boston and Florida, he owns a two-point lead over San Jose's Brent Burns and Dallas' John Klingberg in scoring among defensemen.

Powering Up -Thursday night's game marked the 14thtime this season that the Capitals have managed multiple power-play goals in the same game. With a 22.7% success rate on the season, the Caps are virtually certain of having a sixth straight season with their power play unit clicking at a rate of 20 percent or better.

This would be the first time in franchise history the Caps have managed six straight seasons above the 20 percent plateau. Previously, Washington had a five-season run above 20 percent from 1981-82 through 1985-86.

By The Numbers -Carlson led the Capitals with 26:45 in ice time, and he also led the team with eight shots on net and 14 shot attempts … Wilson led Washington with five hits … Michal Kempny and T.J. Oshie each had four blocked shots to lead the Caps ... Oshie notched an assist in Thursday's game, and he now has a six-game scoring streak (two goals, four assists).