CAPS PLAYING WITH ‘HOUSE MONEY’

AFTER ELIMINATING PERENNIAL NEMESIS, LIGHTNING NEXT UP IN EAST FINAL

It’s sort of funny to talk about the importance of experience in this year’s NHL playoffs.

After all, a first-year expansion team has already reached the Western Conference final having lost just a pair of games through two rounds. And now that the two-time defending champion Penguins failed to get out of the second round, the four winners of the past nine Stanley Cups (Pittsburgh, Chicago, Los Angeles and Boston) are all done and gone.

So what does that mean for the Washington Capitals, who after punching a ticket to the third round with their Game 6 overtime win over Pittsburgh on Monday, took a full day off to celebrate like it actually meant something?

According to Matt Niskanen, it did mean something. This is the first time in 20 years the Capitals advanced past the second round of the playoffs, and the first time since 1994 they defeated the rival Penguins. There’s been a lot of heartbreak for homegrown veterans such as Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Braden Holtby, as well as a championship-starved city that has never experienced a Stanley Cup parade.

“Guys were excited,” said defenceman Niskanen, who has not played in conference final since his rookie season in Dallas in 2008. “And really, we should have been. That’s a good accomplishment. Like I said, it was getting over the hump for our team. Nobody’s been able to beat Pittsburgh for two years, so it’s a good accomplishment but we have to quickly turn the page.”

Handling the emotions will be the challenge for the Capitals as they head into Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final. Less so for Tampa Bay.

While Lightning captain Steven Stamkos spoke about how there is no “panic or nervousness” — this is the third time in four years that Tampa Bay has advanced to the conference final — Washington’s players are in uncharted territory. With the exception of Brooks Orpik, no one has won a Stanley Cup. Few have even made it this far.

Tampa Bay’s experience should count for something. At the same time, no one really believes that Washington’s lack of experience will matter one bit this late in the playoffs, even if the players were still pinching themselves on Thursday.

“I think that’s getting blown out of proportion a little bit, in terms of the media talking about, ‘wow they finally made it and there’s going to be a letdown,’” said Stamkos. “Those guys are just as excited to be here as we are. It’s a different team every year. It’s different players. The past is the past. I think you get into these situations and you want to win. They’ve had their time to celebrate, we’ve had our time to celebrate.

“It’s no easy feat getting to the conference final, but once that puck drops, it’s two good teams trying to get to the Stanley Cup final. It will be a good series.”

It should be a good series because regardless of the past, these were the two top teams in their respective divisions this season. Tampa Bay, which led the conference with 113 points, needed a combined 10 games to defeat the red-hot Devils and a Bruins team that finished one point out of first place. Washington, which finished with 105 points, overcame an early scare against the Columbus Blue Jackets before overwhelming the Penguins in six games.

“We know we’re getting a very good opponent in Washington. They’ve played really well and beaten some really good teams to get here,” said Stamkos. “These guys are a very skilled group. They’re very deep, like we are. And we just need to continuing doing what we’ve done, which is stay disciplined and not turn pucks over and playing really good defensive hockey.”

Both teams come at you with an explosive offence, all-star goaltending and speed to burn. In the regular season, Washington’s Ovechkin led all players with 49 goals, while Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov was one of three players to hit the 100-point mark.

“Just watching, I thought Tampa Bay grew their game,” said Capitals head coach Barry Trotz. “They tightened everything up and they just come at you in waves. They have three lines that can score and they’ve got a grind line that’s effective and a D that can jump in. They can do a lot of things.”

In some ways, the pressure is off the Capitals. Trotz spoke of a sense of relief among the players after getting past Pittsburgh and the second round. The weight has been lifted. To borrow a phrase out of Vegas, the Capitals are playing with house money. That can make them dangerous, as long as they don’t get overwhelmed by the situation.

“You don’t know if you’re going to get back here, so you want to make the best of it.”

The Lightning, meanwhile, have their own demons after losing in the final in 2015 and failing to get out of the third round two years ago. They are the favourites. Then again, they have experience in that department.

“What’s different now is nothing’s coming out of left field,” said Tampa coach Jon Cooper. “We kind of know what’s expected now especially after 2015. The farther you advance the media scrums get bigger and there’s more people around you where I think it would have been a little more eye-opening a few years ago. Now we know it’s coming.

“I guess that’s called experience.”

We’ll see if it means anything. actually