Three teams ahead of Capitals in Eastern Conference playoff race all lose in regulation before their game against Sabres

📸: Alan Dobbins/RMNB

The Washington Capitals’ dwindling playoff chances got a small boost before puck drop against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night.

Three teams ahead of the Capitals in the Eastern Conference playoff race — the New York Islanders, Detroit Red Wings, and Ottawa Senators — all lost in regulation in their preceding games.

The Islanders fell 4-1 to the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday night, seeing the Capitals’ odds rise from 8.6 percent to 9.5 percent. Those odds jumped another full percentage point to 10.5 percent — back in double digits again! — after the New York Rangers beat the Red Wings 4-1 and the Minnesota Wild beat the Senators 4-1 on Saturday afternoon.

There are two other games on Saturday, besides Washington’s own against Buffalo, that could further impact those odds.

The Islanders are in action again, taking on the Carolina Hurricanes, and the Columbus Blue Jackets are playing the Winnipeg Jets. The Capitals need both the Hurricanes and the Jets to win in regulation.

Screenshot: NHL.com/standings

As things currently stand, the Capitals are still three points back of the Senators for the second wild card playoff spot and four points back of the Islanders for third in the Metropolitan Division. The Flyers, Blue Jackets, and Red Wings are all three points ahead of them, but also on the outside looking in.

Washington also desperately needs to take care of their own business against the Sabres, or any other discussion will be rendered moot. The Sabres clinched a playoff spot earlier on Saturday after the Red Wings lost, ending a historic 14-season postseason drought.