"As the NHL prepares to resume the regular season after a five-day hiatus for the All-Star Game, the Washington Capitals sit at a fork in the road.

With 34 games remaining, the Capitals can either cement themselves in the postseason for the fifth straight year or founder, slipping backward into the pack of Eastern Conference squads.

Washington, which holds a tenuous grasp on first place in the Southeast with 55 points and 26 wins, will begin to determine its path with an important set of back-to-back games against division foes Tampa Bay and Florida on the road on Tuesday and Wednesday. That the Capitals ultimately control their own fate is a luxury, players said, given how up-and-down this season has been."