Capitals have a lot to play for these playoffs
Photo credit: RMNB
Statistical models predicted the Washington Capitals would fall short of the playoffs, and none of their players were selected for the 4 Nations Face-Off, most notably, goaltender Logan Thompson and forward Tom Wilson were overlooked.
Ahead of their second-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes, nobody picked the Capitals to advance to the Eastern Conference Final.
Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery admits that his team has something to prove these playoffs.
Ian Oland from RMNB writes that after Friday's practice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex, head coach Spencer Carbery acknowledged to the media that, despite the team being the Eastern Conference's top seed and holding the NHL's best record for a period this season, they carry a chip on their shoulder and view themselves as underdogs.
«I do think that is (true). We don't talk about it a lot. We don't bring it up. We don't show the playoff odds. I think, I sense it in, we're human. Guys read things, they look at different stuff. We know, since the beginning of the year, that we haven't been where most people projected us to be. It just adds a little bit to, we're going to try to do what we do and prove people wrong and continue to do that.» -Carbery
On Friday, following practice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex, head coach Spencer Carbery shared with the media that, despite the team being the Eastern Conference's top seed and holding the NHL's best record for a period this season, they carry a chip on their shoulder and view themselves as underdogs.
Logan Thompson also went on to share that he wears number 48 as a reminder of being overlooked for a team at age 10.
«I wasn't selected to be on that team [Team Canada at 4 Nations], shocker! I always seemed to be the late add and they added me late and they said there's 48 and 12. No one wanted those numbers, so those were the only two numbers they had. As a goalie, I'm not going to pick 12, so I chose 48 and just stuck with it. I feel like no one really wanted me along the way and no one wanted that number. So I think it fits me well.» -Thompson
Carbery continued to talk about his team's underdog mentality that his team carried all season long.
«I don't think it's played a significant role this year, but I do think that it's in the back of guys' minds, of a little bit of an underdog mentality of continuing to prove people wrong I look at a lot of individual players coming here with a lot to prove guys like Jakob Chychrun and Logan Thompson, Pierre-Luc Dubois. I love using John Carlson as a prime example because I think it's so impressive, what he's doing at this stage in his career, of continuing to prove that he's an elite defenseman in this league. So yeah, I think it's in the back of our minds of guys and the underdog mentality of people outside of our walls doubting the Washington Capitals and our group.» -Carbery
The Washington Capitals may not fit the traditional underdog mold, but they are embracing that mindset, and it's fueling their playoff drive.
Game 3 is set for Saturday at 6:00pm in Carolina.
| POLL | ||
MAI 10 | 26 ANSWERS Capitals have a lot to play for these playoffs Do you think the Washington Capitals are viewed as the underdogs in their series against the Hurricanes? | ||
| yes | 21 | 80.8 % |
| no | 5 | 19.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
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