The Washington Capitals won the 2019-20 NHL Metropolitan division race on 90 points, 1 point ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers. It came down to the final days: the Washington Capitals did not lead for good until March 9, 2020.
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Metropolitan standings, 2019-20
Team
W
L
OT
PTS
L10
Streak
Washington Capitals (WSH)
41
20
8
90
4-3-3
OT1
Philadelphia Flyers (PHI)
41
21
7
89
9-1-0
L1
Pittsburgh Penguins (PIT)
40
23
6
86
3-7-0
W1
Carolina Hurricanes (CAR)
38
25
5
81
5-4-1
W3
Columbus Blue Jackets (CBJ)
33
22
15
81
3-4-3
W1
New York Islanders (NYI)
35
23
10
80
2-4-4
OT2
New York Rangers (NYR)
37
28
5
79
5-4-1
OT1
New Jersey Devils (NJD)
28
29
12
68
6-2-2
L1
Final standings.
Turning points
The lead changed hands 5 times.
The Washington Capitals trailed by as many as 4 points on October 11, 2019.
The Washington Capitals took first place for good on March 9, 2020.
The New York Islanders won 10 games in a row from October 12, 2019 to November 5, 2019, the longest run of the race.
The Carolina Hurricanes led by 4 points as late as October 15, 2019.
The Washington Capitals led by as many as 10 points on December 27, 2019.
The Washington Capitals went 13-1-2 from October 15, 2019 to November 18, 2019, turning a deficit of 4 points into a lead of 7 points.
The top two ended the day within two points of each other on 35 of the 146 days played.
The Washington Capitals spent 144 of the season's 162 charted days in first place.