Washington Capitals Victory: Road to Success

(Arlington, Virginie) “I don’t need to recall the clichés …”

Washington’s head coach Spencer Carbery knows the circumstance sentences on the tip of his fingers. This Wednesday match, between the Canadiens and his team, the one who, in the event of a victory, would allow the caps to access the second round of the playoffs, will be “the most difficult to win” so far.

The hollow formulas that the pilot spared us, his players had reminded us a few minutes before, in case we have forgotten them. In unison, we highlighted how the Habs tried to go so far. No one expects to receive a gift in the fifth duel between two clubs that love each other less and less.

The concrete importance of this meeting does not need to be demonstrated for the capital. However, a victory this Wednesday would also have a symbolic value.

Since the conquest of the Stanley Cup in 2018, Alexander Ovechkin and his comrades have never crossed the first round. They passed nearby in 2019, undergoing a heartbreaking defeat in the second period of extension of the seventh game of a long battle against the Hurricans of Caroline. As everyone remembers, Brock McGinn had then broken the hearts of the supporters of the capital.

Following this defeat, representatives of the federal capital signed only four gains in 20 playoffs spread over five years. And a reporter assigned to the team’s coverage recalled Tuesday that they have not concluded a series with a home victory since 2015.

This remark seemed to annoy Tom Wilson, already also excited to answer the questions of journalists as to the idea of ​​being torn off a tooth.

“This group does not think like that,” he said dryly. We focus on the match, not on what happened two years or five years ago [ou dix ans]. We obviously want to win at home. We will be motivated, we will work hard and we hope to close the books. »»

More appropriately, Nic Dowd recalled that his teammates and had sweated blood and water to access the series and ensure the advantage of the ice, but that they were not full. Despite the good humor that reigned in training on Tuesday, we do not take the situation lightly.

Perspective

Since only four players in the 2018 triumph – Ovechkin, Wilson, John Carlson and Lars Eller – still evolve in Washington and that coaches have also changed since, it is difficult to obtain a global perspective over the last seven years.

The successes of the most recent season and the imminence of an accession to the second round validates the choices of management, which has made a major rebractering within the organization.

No less than 13 members of the current training, in addition to the head coach Spencer Carbery, were not there when the capital missed the series in 2023.

“We operated a full turn,” confirmed Nic Dowd, a 34 -year -old veteran who arrived in Washington after the 2018 Cup. There are several reasons why we are better. We won in maturity. Our young people have learned to play in several situations and stay in the present moment without being disturbed by the outside noise. We took a big step on the ice, but also mentally. »»

Winning this Wednesday, in a way, would consecrate the rebirth of the franchise.

Growth

In two complete seasons behind the bench, Carbery says he had attended “significant” growth in his troops. And not only on the side of his young shoots. Dylan Strome, at 28, has just established three personal records in three years in terms of points. As for Carlson, Wilson and Ovechkin, who are all thirty – almost quarantine in the case of Russian -, “they did not decline at all”.

“They continue to play at a high level and push the group thanks to their work habits,” continued Carbery. It’s beautiful to see. This is why we win matches and find ourselves in this position. »»

For the time being, matches to be won, there is only one before going to the next step. And it is precisely the experience and maturity acquired in recent months that give confidence to Pierre-Luc Dubois to see the caps win this Wednesday against the Canadian. Last Sunday’s victory showed the patience of this training when it reaches its foundations.

“We don’t panic, insisted the Quebecer. During the season, even when we lost a match or two, we mainly linger in our way of playing and not the result. When you build it in season, there is no panic in series. In the last match, we drew from the back in the third period, but we didn’t change anything. We knew that we could resume the lead. This is what I admire this team. »»

The tone is therefore set for the next match. Whoever, it seems, will be the most difficult to win. If the cliché says, it is because it must be true.

Protas should play

This is not a file that fascinates the Montreal public, but it could nevertheless have an impact on the rest of the series. It seems that the return of Aliaksei Protas in the training of capital is increasingly imminent. The 6 -ft 6 -inch and 247 lb Belarusian, which has not played since April 4 due to an injury, received the green light from the doctors and was still trained with its team on Tuesday. The colossus with clay feet scored 30 goals and collected 66 points during the season.