Is there a soul out there who thought the Washington Capitals had a legitimate shot at a playoff berth in 2007-08?

We’re talking about a rebuilding Washington franchise that finished ahead of only one Eastern Conference club in points in both of the last two seasons. This year, the Capitals started 6-14-1, collecting four fewer points than any team in the league before firing coach Glen Hanlon on Nov. 22.

The Caps had won just three of their last 18 games when the front office summoned Bruce Boudreau from their AHL affiliate in Hershey to take over the club. The turnaround has been startling.

Washington’s Improvement under Boudreau

Category. . . . . . . . . . . Under Hanlon. . . . . . . . . .Under Boudreau
Team Record. . . . . . . . . . .6-14-1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-8-4
Goals per Game. . . . . . . . . .2.2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3.4
Goals Allowed/Game. . . . . . 3.0. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3.1
Power Play Pct. . . . . . . . . 14.6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.8
Power Play Kill. . . . . . . . . .78.2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82.1

Washington returns to action following the All-Star break with a 23-22-5 record. That’s good for second place in the soft Southeast Division, one point behind the first-place Hurricanes. Even looking beyond the division, Washington is just three points from the eighth and final playoff berth in the East.

The Capitals take the ice in Montreal Tuesday night with seven wins in their last nine contests. That stretch includes a 4-2 win over the East’s points leader, the Ottawa Senators, which completed Washington’s four-game sweep of the season series.

“It’s come directly from Bruce,” Caps center Brooks Laich said. “He’s a confident guy, and he preaches that to his players, and his players are playing with confidence. He makes the game real easy to play. It’s a lot different around here now than it was before.”

It hasn’t been all fun.

“He doesn’t make it comfortable around here by any means to make us feel satisfied with what we’ve done,” noted Mike Green, whose 14 goals lead all NHL defensemen.

There could be a payoff, of course. A playoff spot this spring would be Washington’s first in five years.