Capitals hope home-ice struggles can melt away

WASHINGTON — The good news for Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals is that they still lead the Eastern Conference finals against the Lightning.

The bad news for the Capitals, counterintuitive as it may seem to be: They host Game 4.

So far this postseason the Capitals are 7-1 away from home, closing out both of their first two series on the road. Heading into Thursday night, they are only 3-4 in their own arena.

The latest setback was a 4-2 loss to the Lightning on Tuesday after victories in Tampa Bay by a combined score of 10-4 in the series’ first two games.

Ovechkin simply shrugged when asked about that discrepancy.

“We don’t think about it,” the three-time NHL MVP said. “We just play our game.”

Others were less dismissive.

“We can take a few things that we’ve done on the road and put it into our home game,” goalie Braden Holtby said. “Simpler play (and a) more gritty style.

“It’s easier to play on the road. Any team would say that because you’re not focused on the excitement of your fans. They bring you energy in good ways, but you need to stay realistic and play your game.”

Asked how his club could fare better at home, Capitals coach Barry Trotz said: “Just play the way we do on the road. We’re invested there. We’re playing with real good focus.

“I didn’t think we were as focused (Tuesday) as we have been normally on the road, so just pretend (we’re) on the road. All the buildings are pretty well the same these days.”

Trotz notices a difference in his players’ attitude on home ice, saying: “It’s us against the world when we’re on the road.”

There is a leaguewide trend here: Road teams are 38-34 in these playoffs. So much for any supposed home-ice advantage, right?

“At this time of the year there are more distractions than in the regular season,” Lightning forward Steven Stamkos said. “A lot of people have friends and family coming down and (are receiving) ticket requests. Sometimes there’s that added pressure of playing at home and wanting to obviously do good things in front of your fans.

“(But) there’s something to be said (for) winning on the road, when you can kind of hear a pin drop in the crowd sometimes, which is always a good thing.”

Only five teams in the 31-team NHL had more regular-season victories at home than the Capitals’ 28 — and that total represents seven more wins than they managed on the road.

So what is going on in the playoffs?

“I don’t really have an explanation for it,” defenseman Brooks Orpik said. “When we go on the road, I think we feel a bit more relaxed, and when we do make mistakes we don’t let the groaning affect us.

“That being said, we should be mentally stronger to not let that affect us (at home).”