Washington did the almost impossible. They snatched and chewed the last ticket to the NHL playoffs, although a couple of weeks ago everything spoke against them. But three wins in a row at the end of the regular season, including success in today’s decisive match against Philadelphia, secured their place in the main part of the season.
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“I can not understand it! “Now we have to take advantage of this opportunity.”
After the game, coach Spencer Carbery was beaming like a polished coin and trying to comprehend the miracle his boys had accomplished. He said the team is not going to lose face in the playoffs, even though everyone will say they don’t belong there.
“I can not understand this! It seems I still haven’t realized that we have achieved our goal: getting back to the Stanley Cup. I am proud, very, very proud of our team. Today’s game symbolizes what this team has done all season. In the second game in two days, it was clear that we were out of gas, but we fought every turn to get the puck out of the zone and run. We had a good conversation during the second half about what we needed to do in the third period. The boys persevered and did a brilliant job in the third period. And they found their way to victory. We made it to the playoffs!
Spencer Carbury
Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/AP/TASS
Phew, we have proven a lot. You could see it on the guys’ faces in the locker room if you were John Carlson or Connor McMichael. They are all at different stages in their careers and lives, but whether it was their first year in the NHL, like many, or their 17th season, you could see how badly they wanted to win every game. I remember when we played in Edmonton, I don’t even remember the result, but it was bad. But this team… They said, “Everyone has written us off.” And the next day we surpassed ourselves and were able to win in Seattle. The 20 players gave everything in that match. And we have played like this all season and today’s game is no exception.
Now we have to take advantage of this opportunity. We don’t want to settle for just making the playoffs, we want to play well and show our best side. Everyone will say: they don’t belong in the playoffs, but you saw their goal difference, blah, blah, blah. This is how they will present everything, and that is normal. It’s a fact, no matter what. But I know this team won’t be satisfied with just making the playoffs. We don’t want to lose face, we want to show what our team is capable of. We want to play well in these games and live up to our standards. And we will see if this is enough to win several matches and eliminate the opponent.”
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“It was a crazy situation. For us, almost every game was like the seventh.”
For Alexander Ovechkin, these NHL playoffs will be the 15th of his career. He explained how the Caps managed to overcome all the difficulties of the season and shared his emotions from the crazy run of the last few weeks, where they beat Pittsburgh, Detroit and Philadelphia.
“The atmosphere in the locker room is amazing. We enjoy the process. This is something special, that’s why we play hockey, because we want to feel this atmosphere. We beat very good teams to get to the playoffs. Everyone took a big step forward mentally and gained experience in different situations on and off the ice. This is very cool. Almost every game was like Game 7 of the playoffs for us. Sometimes other teams helped us, they didn’t get points and we stayed in the race. Until today it was a crazy situation. I was just told that Detroit got the point, but Philadelphia still lost the goalie. They didn’t know it. But it will suit us. Thanks, Philly!
Let’s enjoy this moment today and then get back to work. You never know what will happen in the playoffs. There is a different hockey there, a different atmosphere, everyone will be at a new level. I’m looking forward to it starting.
Our team has always stayed together no matter what. It was a difficult year, with a lot of injuries, we brought a lot of guys from Hershey and they played incredible. McIlrath provided the most important assist for today’s goal. We worked hard and we are going to do something special this year and we will continue to play the same way. We overcame several difficult moments throughout the season: injuries, trades, but we still believed. We all believe in each other. The experience of last month will help us and the coaching staff, because Carbs will lead a team to the Stanley Cup for the first time,” Ovechkin said.
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“Making the playoffs means a lot. The boys will be ready to rock.”
TJ Oshie talked about scoring the game-winning goal into an empty Philadelphia net and admitted that making the playoffs means a lot to him.
“It was a surprise to me that Philadelphia played without a goalkeeper. I didn’t even know what happened. I was prepared for this, but only realized the goal was empty when Hathaway tried to block my shot. I would like to throw him not to the bottom corner, he scared me a little. But I was able to score. We were prepared for this, we discussed it in the morning.
The feeling is great. It was such a good match that they were unlucky for it to end that way. But they needed a win in regulation, so it’s understandable why they did what they did. It was a good battle.
The joy of the Washington players
Photo: Matt Slocum/AP/TASS
Making the playoffs means a lot. Once you become a champion, the regular season no longer matters as much as the playoffs. Being in the draw again is something special. We won’t take it for granted, the boys will be ready to rock.
The last few weeks say a lot about our character. This doesn’t mean the other teams that were in the race didn’t have their ups and downs, but we lost Becky, Kuzy, our one-two punch on the center line. The boys have been injured lately; I don’t know how many games in a row we’ve lost recently. It’s good that we fought back, the momentum is on our side. We have a lot of guys who haven’t gotten very far into the playoffs or played in them yet, and they’re starting to learn what kind of dedication, focus and intensity playoff hockey requires. We’ve been playing like we’re in the playoffs for a long time, just to get there. We need to carry this into the playoffs,” Oshie said.
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“I am absolutely confident that Washington can win in the playoffs.”
One of the team’s main heroes is goalkeeper Charlie Lindgren, who saved 27 of 28 shots today. He always believed in Washington and now believes the capital can make a lot of noise in the playoffs.
“We scored few goals, but we were able to win three important games in a row. This says a lot about our team. It wasn’t easy for us, but in the end we were able to score two points. We have a great team, there is a lot of fire and competitive spirit in it. I am absolutely confident that we can win in the playoffs. We have great leaders who have set the bar high over the past 20 years. Young people also try to meet these standards and do a great job. We have guys who have already won. In the playoffs everything starts from scratch and I can’t wait to go out and play hockey. I believed in our team all the time, we never gave up. You should have seen the emotions in the locker room today, now we will get on the train, go back home and prepare for the playoffs.
Very pleasant emotions when we celebrate on the ice. It was a great relief; You could see on the boys’ faces how difficult it was for them. However, everyone on our team deserved it. We deserve the opportunity to play in the playoffs. “It’s going to be a tough test for the Rangers, but we’re looking forward to it,” Lindgren said.
