Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
The Washington Capitals go for their first Stanley Cup tonight against the Vegas Golden Knights.
For 1st time, Capitals’ burden is playing for an extra 2 months
In years past, after annual disappointment rendered the Capitals spectators, John Carlson would experience a recurring insight.
Having been dispatched from the playoffs by the second round at the latest, Carlson would watch the rest of the postseason from his couch. By the time the Stanley Cup Final began, Carlson would think, “Man, I can’t believe these guys are still playing hockey.”
As the Capitals have broken through their secondround hex and stormed to within one victory of hoisting the Cup, they have discovered a physical and mental toll unique in sports.
Nearly the entire roster had experienced the Stanley Cup playoffs, though never for more than a month. But Thursday night in Las Vegas, where they can close out the Golden Knights and claim the first title in franchise history, the Capitals will play their 24th playoff game in 57 days.
“The road to get here is so long,” forward Lars Eller said. “I don’t see any other sport where it’s harder to reach this point.”
The NHL playoffs require participants to test themselves in ways other sports do not, both physically and mentally. They have the frequency of basketball, the random breaks of baseball and the physicality of football. Players launch themselves into one another at peak intensity and use their bodies to block hunks of frozen rubber hurtling at nearly 100 mph. Many goals are the product of lucky bounces.
“When the mind gets real tired and you think that you can’t do it, you can’t,” Caps coach Barry Trotz said. “When your mind is strong, you’re able to go way further than you ever thought you could. That’s what you find out when you get these opportunities. You find out what you can take and how much you have to give. You find out that you can take a lot more and you can give a lot more.”
The stakes make one playoff game feel like multiple regular-season games packed into one night.
“The emotional toll on your body is just way, way harder and higher,” Eller said. “It feels like it takes years out of your life. Especially with the OTs. It’s just like, sometimes you have to play almost a half game more. I don’t know any other sports like that. Those games, you are physically just depleted after.”
The Caps altered their off-day conditioning, eliminating weightlifting and cardiovascular training to conserve energy. Players rest for parts of practices and skip some entirely.
But it’s important to enoy the moment.
“Maybe you’re never going to have a chance to play like that,” captain Alex Ovechkin said.
After so many years of letdowns, the Caps are learning how hard it is to be playing hockey in early June. But they know it beats watching from the couch.