ARLINGTON, Va. – There are scars here somewhere, just hidden from plain view.
The most veteran of Washington Capitals have been part of six 100-point seasons and still haven’t reached a conference final. They have justifiably been hyped up, asked “is this finally the year?” and then forced to try a conjure up explanations for why it ultimately wasn’t.
Again and again. Spring after spring.
“I went through it in St. Louis for four or five years,” Capitals defenceman Kevin Shattenkirk said Wednesday on the eve of a first-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs. “It can be taxing. It can weigh on your mind.”
The trade deadline splash wants to help ease the burden. That obviously happens on the ice, where he’s fit in nicely on the third defence pairing and as a key cog in the NHL’s third-best power play, but his experience should be beneficial in tough times, too.
Shattenkirk isn’t carrying the same baggage as many of his teammates – last year’s loss to Pittsburgh, the blown 3-1 series lead against the Rangers the year before that, and back down the line.
“Well I don’t think it’s mine, to be honest,” said Shattenkirk. “It’s not something that I bear on my shoulders. I’m brought in here, and if I take that on my shoulders then I’m only hurting this team. I think I need to be kind of a new fresh breath of air and, you know, breathe some life into these guys.
“We broke through last year (in St. Louis) and it was an amazing feeling and I think that’s what I have in my head right now. That’s what I’m going to try to convey with these guys. We won’t stop. We’ll just keep pushing.”
Were you to line up a healthy Capitals roster against a healthy Leafs roster and simulate a series in a controlled environment, there isn’t much question about who would win.
In reality, the odds should actually tilt even more in Washington’s favour with news that defenceman Nikita Zaitsev will be unavailable for Toronto in Game 1 because of a suspected concussion. The gap between the blue-lines is now looking more like a canyon.
It’s little wonder why online betting sites are listing Washington as a four-to-one favourite.
Or, for that matter, why Leafs coach Mike Babcock took the opportunity this week to suggest that there’s a lot of pressure when playing with those kind of expectations– words that quickly spread here to the Kettler Iceplex in suburban D.C.
“I listened to Babs’ comments. He’s playing you guys with that, but I think we can understand that,” said Capitals coach Barry Trotz. “We expect ourselves to do well, that’s the expectation that we put on ourselves. I don’t think that’s going to change.
“I think we’re way more prepared for that, maybe than we were last year. I don’t think that’s going to be a big factor for us.”
Well it is until it isn’t.
There is more meat on the bone of this topic than your typical storyline that merely fills the space between games in a playoff series. There is history. Locally, this playoff run is being characterized as a “referendum on the Capitals’ heart” by the Washington Times.
With the future of several players beyond this season hanging in the balance, anything short of a Stanley Cup will be considered a disappointment.
Talk about great expectations.
“It’s what you make of it in your own head, right?” said third-line centre Lars Eller, acquired from Montreal last summer. “It’s definitely something we’ve talked about. It’s really how we feel about the pressure and not what everybody around is saying.”
Inside the dressing room, there is a belief that this is the deepest Caps team of the Alex Ovechkin/Nicklas Backstrom Era. They enter the playoffs healthy at a time when key rivals are not. They scored 3.18 goals per game this season while allowing 2.16.
Eller has seen how mad Montreal can get at playoff time, and senses a “chill attitude” here.
“I really haven’t felt that kind of thing, that everybody should be afraid of failing or whatever,” he said.
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The key will be how they respond to the situations that don’t quite go to plan. Frustration has been known to set in before, especially while being eliminated three times in Game 7 and once in Game 6 during their last four playoff appearances.
Washington averaged just 1.92 goals per game over the course of those four series.
“I think in the playoffs it’s about managing your shift, make sure you’re not trying to force things that aren’t there,” said Trotz.
This time, they are vowing to rise above the fray.
After Wednesday’s practice, no one seemed too concerned about Babcock’s comments or how the Leafs were viewing things. Fourth-line winger Tom Wilson, a Toronto native, had already sworn off social media for the series.
“Nothing really good comes of that,” said Wilson. “It comes down to when we put the skates on to go out on the ice what’s going to happen. All of the extra-curricular stuff, and quotes and headlines, it’s not meaningful.”
There is pressure here, sure – “If you don’t feel any pressure at this point in the year I don’t think you’re human,” said Shattenkirk – but it’s being viewed as the healthy kind.
“I think right now everybody focusing on their business,” said Ovechkin. “There’s only one goal here – get it done. And I think we’re ready for it.”
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