2024-04-19 22:50:00
Hendrix Lapierre can’t wait any longer for the NHL playoffs to begin.
This is because for the first time in his career, the tip of Washington capitals will be in action in this NHL Spring Classic. This situation is possible thanks to a victory that was taken away Philadelphia Flyers in the last game of the season with an empty net.
It is surprising to see this training met with Rangers in New York in the first round of the playoffs, because last March general manager Brian MacLellan placed himself among the sellers at the trade deadline. In four days the Caps got rid of itAnthony Mantha, Joel Edmundson a Yevgeny Kuznetsovwithout making a single purchase in return.
Instead of tearing down the players in the dressing room, this decision seemed to whip them up, starting with the leader of this team, Alex Ovechkin. Listening to Lapierre during his visit to Hockey 360the latter talking about how his captain seemed on a mission at the end of the season and that he wanted to prove to his bosses that the team was capable of punching a playoff ticket despite everything to the contrary.
“All the years he was there, it was perhaps rare that the team was among the sellers. By making the series, maybe it was a way for him to say, “Hey, you wanted to sell, but we still managed to make the series.” I think it was a little nod to the organization and he was super happy when we succeeded, said Lapierre during his interview with Hockey 360.
The 22-year-old forward noticed Ovechkin shifting into fifth gear after returning from the All-Star break in February. The statistics show that he is right. Since then, Ovechkin has scored 22 goals to finish the campaign with 31 for the record.
“I think he looks like a hungry guy, that’s easy to say because his stats went up from that point, but started back up from the All-Star break. You felt at the end of the year that he wanted to prove it.
“For us young players, to see our 35-and-over veterans still doing all this gives us a boost of energy,” he maintained.
If Ovechkin already has his share of experience in the NHL playoffs at 38 years old, including a Stanley Cup, Lapierre does not come with empty baggage for baptism in such a situation in the Bettman circle. The former Chicoutimi Saguenéens and Acadie-Bathurst Titan had quite a journey with the Hershey Bears during the 2022-2023 campaign that ended with the capture of the Calder Cup in the American League. This journey is important at the beginning of this series.
“We’re a couple of guys who played in the American League last season and are in the Caps now. I think it really helped us this trip. You don’t realize it at the moment, but with a little hindsight you realize that you have played many close games where you had to protect a lead, score and be in a situation where you are not in control. “I think it really helped us get to Game 7 in overtime,” said the man who had 22 points in 51 games with the Caps this season.
“Sure this little bag of experience isn’t the National League, but it’s still hard to win the Calder Cup and we did it,” he added.
Lapierre and the Caps will have a big challenge on Sunday with the first game played at Madison Square Garden in front of the Presidents’ Trophy recipients. However, he is confident the group in the Caps locker room can cause an upset ahead of the regular season champions.
“I’m excited and can’t wait to see. It must have been 10 years since I listened to the show religiously and to be able to experience it in New York on top of that, I think it’s going to be really special. I’m really excited. I I wish the series had started yesterday instead of waiting. I’m really looking forward to it.”
“We are excited about this challenge. We have started preparations for this team. She doesn’t have many weaknesses, she will be difficult to face, but we will be very excited, he said.
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