The playoffs are just over a week away and posturing is already beginning for the Eastern Conference leading Washington Capitals.
"If we want to win anything, we have to go through Pittsburgh, " Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau said today during the Capitals pre-game skate.
With the Presidents trophy wrapped up, Boudreau is downplaying the importance of tonight's game, indicating that tonight's game has no bearing on a potential playoff matchup between the Penguins and Capitals.
"Quite frankly, the game doesn't really mean a lot to us, Boudreau said. "If we've got guys who are tired and banged up, let's rest them. Today's game is more important to them because they want to finish second."
The Capitals will rest top defenseman Mike Green and backup goaltender Semyon Varlamov will start in goal.
Meanwhile, in the Penguins locker room, Sidney Crosby talked about how the playoffs are a different season when questions about being 0-6 against New Jersey and 0-3 against Washington came about.
Despite rolling through the Eastern Conference, questions remain whether the Capitals are built to win in the playoffs.
The critical comments from Columbus Blue Jackets winger R.J. Umberger over the weekend about the Capitals playing the wrong way has resonated throughout the NHL and into the Capitals locker room.
“I don’t think any team in the West would be over matched by them,” Umberger told the Columbus-Dispatch. "They play the wrong way....They want to be moving all the time....
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