TORONTO – Every NHL player with games left to play has a reason to play them well. But there is no collective group with more at stake in these Stanley Cup Playoffs than the Washington Capitals.
By that logic, it is reasonable to expect them to deliver a Game 4 performance worthy of the reputation they’ve earned by winning 111 games over the last two regular seasons.
They are not truly in trouble against the Toronto Maple Leafs, not yet, but danger isn’t too far from view. And they’ve got more to lose with an early playoff exit than anyone else still playing.
"You’re going to see our best game tomorrow," Capitals coach Barry Trotz vowed Tuesday.
We should learn a little something about the one-time Stanley Cup favourites at Air Canada Centre on Wednesday night. The margins for error have been minuscule in a series where all three games have gone to overtime and the Capitals hold a 198-192 edge in shot attempts at even strength.
This one has been too close to call.
And, yet, the possibility of Washington going down 3-1 is in the air.
"They realize that a bounce here, a bounce there, and the series could be in our favour," Trotz said of his players. "But it hasn’t gone that way. It’s all about mental toughness; this team is pretty mentally tough."
Wherever this spring takes the Caps, there is something of a last-stand feel to it. The team has 11 regulars up for free agency – both restricted and unrestricted – and the salary cap won’t allow general manager Brian MacLellan to keep the whole band together.
Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Braden Holtby are still on long-term deals, but the supporting cast is going to change this off-season.
Even if that isn’t front of mind for the players right now, it underscores the importance of not letting another opportunity slip through their grasp. Simply falling behind 2-1 in this first-round series has started to raise the annoying questions about the disappointments of playoffs past.
"Well, you are probably the only one thinking about that now," Backstrom said after Monday’s 4-3 overtime loss, abruptly ending his scrum with reporters.
The narrative was established before this series even began when Leafs coach Mike Babcock said it’s incredibly hard for a Presidents’ Trophy-winning team to play an opponent with nothing to lose. He called it the "pucker factor."
"I’ve lived both situations," Babcock explained. "I’ve lived where you’re the underdog and you’re not supposed to win and I’ve lived where you’re the best team in hockey and you’re supposed to win. They’re totally different. People can tell you they’re not, I’ve lived it.
"They’re different – believe me."
That storyline has hung around like a bad smell with Toronto winning the last two games, but the Capitals players insist it isn’t relevant to their situation.
"No, I don’t think so," said veteran forward Daniel Winnik. "I think that’s what they’ve done here is temper expectations. I think by Mike saying that, that’s one of his things to take pressure off his team to perform."
For his part, Trotz was extremely even-keeled in breaking down what happened in Game 3.
He’s planning to give captain Alex Ovechkin more than the 15:08 of ice time he received in that game – "That’s on me," said Trotz – and urged his players to adopt a stronger mindset to fight their way to the right positions on the ice.
Beyond squandering a 3-1 lead in Monday’s game, the thing that seemed to eat at him most is that they only managed four shots on goal in the final 22 minutes of play.
"I wish I could give you a more positive answer," said Trotz, when asked why the offence dried up. "We gave up a late goal (in the second period). The crowd was into it, they got a little momentum, and was it a little harder for us to get the momentum back at that point. They did a real good job through the neutral zone, they were tracking hard, they were doing a lot of good stuff.
"You’ve got to fight for those inches. We weren’t able to get enough zone time and enough pucks to the net."
They still came within a late Evgeny Kuznetsov shot off the crossbar away from winning in regulation.
There is a poster hanging on the wall of the Capitals dressing room that says: "Own the big moments." That’s something forward Justin Williams doesn’t believe the team did enough of last season.
In the early stages of this series, it hasn’t happened either. The Caps have had plenty of chances, and a few unfavourable bounces, but they’re not making good on enough of their opportunities.
"That can change in a heartbeat," said Trotz. "That can change tomorrow night."
Trouble won’t be far off if it doesn’t.
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