Caps embrace pressure, come up big
Leafs fall behind early but make it close, as series shifts back to Washington tied 2-2
TORONTO — Better hold off on printing those Round 2 tickets. We’ve got a series again. You knew this was going to happen. You knew the Washington Capitals, who were practically written off after going down 2-1 to the Toronto Maple Leafs, were not just going to fold up and go away. There was far too much skill, far too much pride in their dressing room for that.
Sure, a seed of doubt might have been growing in some of the Washington players’ minds after losing back-to-back games to Toronto. But with all the premature talk of upsets, there had been anger growing as well.
“Obviously you can tell everyone in this town is soaking it in,” Capitals forward Justin Williams said of Toronto’s reaction to the series. “But sometimes I’m not sure what I like more: a loud arena or a quiet one.”
It was the latter on Wednesday night, as the Capitals hung on to beat the Leafs 5-4 in Game 4 to even the best-of-seven series 2-2.
This was the response many expected from a veteran team that finished with the best record in the regular season. It wasn’t the San Jose Sharks schooling the Edmonton Oilers Tuesday, but there was a statement delivered just the same.
And that statement was the Capitals aren’t going away. If anything, after a hiccup in Games 2 and 3, the Presidents’ Trophy winners are back playing with confidence.
In other words, we’re in for a long series.
Washington scored two goals in the first five minutes. When the Leafs cut the lead in half, Tom Wilson scored twice to give the Capitals a 4-1 lead at the end of the first period. They faded in the final two periods and gave the Leafs a chance to tie things up after Auston Matthews and Tyler Bozak each made it a onegoal game in the third period. But this was still a win Washington can build from.
“It’s very rare when you see a team waltz their way all the way to the Stanley Cup,” Williams said before Game 4.
“It doesn’t happen. And if it does, it’s very few and far between. You go through adversity on your way there. I’ve been on a couple of championship teams down 0-2, down 0-3, so you rally around it. There’s a lot of times during the playoffs where you need to man up and win a game and the pressure is on. This is one of them, obviously.”
It was a pep talk only Williams could deliver with any authenticity.
In a room full of players who have come up short or continually choked at this time of year — Brooks Orpik is the only other Capitals player to have won a Stanley Cup or even reached the final — Williams was the one with a playoff resume that included three championships, one playoff MVP and a nickname (Mr. Game 7) for coming up big when it mattered the most. This, he said, was nothing. The Capitals were not down 3-0 or even 3-1 in the best-of-seven series to the Leafs. It just felt that way — something the team changed on Wednesday night.
“He’s a special guy,” Washington defenceman Nate Schmidt said of Williams.
“Especially at this time of year, he’s got that aura about him.”
That aura comes from not only being in situations like this before, but also being the one who often delivered the big moment. When playing for the Los Angeles Kings, Williams scored twice in Game 4 to reverse a 3-0 series deficit. He finished with nine goals and 25 points in those playoffs, scoring the overtime winner in the championship-clinching final.
Williams has been there and done that — over and over again. Even though he didn’t score in Game 4, he was a much-needed voice of reason for a team whose psyche was in need of repair.
Williams’ message before Game 4: seize the moment.
The Capitals, who finished with 23 more points than the Leafs in the regular season, have been dubbed the favourites in these playoffs. But rather than run away from what could be a daunting label, Williams wanted the team to embrace it.
They should feel like favourites, he said. They should believe they are championship-worthy. On Wednesday, they played that way.
“We know our aspirations. Our aspirations are as big as they get,” Williams said.
“I think the whole ‘favourite’ thing and expectations are certainly put on by ourselves more than anyone else. Everyone will talk about them, but when you feel you have an opportunity, and I know this very well, you want to seize that opportunity, because you really don’t know how many more you’re going to get.”
In Game 4, they looked more like championship contenders. The question is whether that holds true for the rest of the series.