No hockey player is going to complain about too much rest at this time of year. But the Caps will walk a fine line this week as they wait to find out their opponent for the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
“It is, but it’s also nice to get that rest and let the bumps and bruises heal up,” forward Matt Hendricks said. “Get outside, see the sun a little bit, get some Vitamin D. It feels good. But definitely it’s still a group in here that’s really focused in and just waiting to see who we’re going to play.”
They likely won’t know until late tomorrow night who that will be – and the suspense could last until Wednesday. So for now Bruce Boudreau will have his team work on its own systems with a heavy emphasis on special teams. There was an optional skate at Kettler Iceplex on Monday with 17 skaters taking part – though injured veterans Mike Knuble and Dennis Wideman left early after skating on their own before practice.
“It’s good, but on the other hand we’ve got to stay focused,” forward Matt Bradley said. “We haven’t achieved anything yet. We won the first round. Big deal. We’re happy we did that, but that was never our goal. Now we’re going to have to be prepared because whoever we play is going to have a [recent] game…and we won’t so if we’re not ready we’ll definitely get caught.”
Those “bumps and brusies” – as Hendricks put it – built up despite just five games against the Rangers. New York led the NHL in hits during the regular season and threw its weight around pretty frequently against Washington in the first round. The earliest possible start for the Caps is Thursday, giving them four days without a game. But Friday or Saturday is more likely for Game 1 depending on the opponent and building availability.
“It’s not the end we want. We want to keep building. We want to keep getting better,” forward Jason Chimera said. “It’s a good step. That’s the way we have to play the whole time. We played a hard-working team, too, one of the hardest-working teams in the league. And we matched it, which is great for our team. When we work hard good things happen. Game 5 was good for our psyche, that’s for sure.”
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