CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- The knock against the Capitals' defense the past two springs proved wholly legit: They were big and nasty, but too slow for that to matter much.
It would appear they've figured that out.
Here are the pairings they used to conclude their first-round Stanley Cup playoff victory over the Blue Jackets, and Barry Trotz is expected to stick with those for the series with the Penguins that opens tomorrow in D.C.:
Dmitry Orlov-Matt Niskanen
Michal Kempny-John Carlson
Brooks Orpik-Christian Djoos
Sure, they've still got some size with Orpik, though he most definitely left his once-impressive wheels behind right here in our town. They've still got some snarl, too, between Orpik and another old friend, Niskanen. But otherwise, it's a different dynamic built around their No. 1 guy, John Carlson, in that the rest of the corps can now keep up with him:
• Orlov, an enigma who wasn't trusted by Trotz in the previous playoffs, elevated his status over this past regular season with 31 points and, most important, smarter work with the puck at both ends. He's 26, so it was about time.
The pure offense had never been a question, as was reinforced Monday by this gorgeous goal in Game 6 at Columbus:
My goodness. Check out undressed Artemi Panarin up there.
Orlov's 5-11, so the focus is on mobility.
• Kempny, acquired at the trade deadline from the Blackhawks as a rental, is 27 and in the same mold: He stands 5-11, he's fast, and he instinctively jumps into the rush.
• Djoos, a 23-year-old rookie, overcame being a seventh-round draft pick and carrying only 167 pounds on a 6-foot frame -- for real -- to play in 63 games and earn playoff status. He's all about speed, and that makes sense because it's got to be his primary mode of survival in the wild.
The latter two replaced Nate Schmidt, who also was mobile but was lost in the Vegas expansion draft, and big, clunky Karl Alzner, who was egregiously overpaid in free agency by the Canadiens.
So, not bad, right?
Undoubtedly not, but I'll still suggest that the Penguins' safest route toward winning this series will be the one taken against Philadelphia: Attack the blue line relentlessly with speed, push their defense back, then make them work like crazy to get back out.
I brought this up yesterday after practice with Conor Sheary, who achieved all of that as effectively as anyone against the Flyers, whose defense led the NHL in goals.
"I think every team, every series is a different challenge," Sheary replied. "These guys overall, obviously, have the firepower to score, and their power play's really dangerous. You don't want to let them get to that."
Fair points both. Alexander Ovechkin is this generation's greatest goal-scorer, and his power play just went 9 for 28 against the Blue Jackets.
"And their D-men might not be as mobile as the Flyers," Sheary continued, "but they've still got really good players. They've got Carlson, Orlov, Niskanen ... these guys are good defensemen. So I think the matchups will be pretty good all series."
OK, but can the Penguins wear them down, as they did to Shayne Gostisbehere, Ivan Provorov and the rest?
"Yeah, I think so. We've got to stick to our game plan. We've got to try to use our speed to our advantage, push them back, make them play on their heels. That's when I think we're at our best, for sure."
I'll agree, and not just for the obvious reason that it generates offense. Zone time is always a big deal, but it'll be bigger in this one. Because the Capitals' top players, unlike those for the Flyers who essentially vanished, will be a handful once established in the Pittsburgh end. We're going to see more sustained attack from this opponent in one game than we saw from the previous opponent over a whole series.
There's no quick cure for that in and of itself. But if the Penguins are doing their thing at the far end ...
"Every second you play down there," Jamie Oleksiak told me, "is another second you don't need to do it in your end."
Yep.
• Sidney Crosby's going to see a ton of Niskanen, Trotz's favorite matchup guy. This could be excellent news for Sid's dentist.
• The Capitals have gotten quality support from their younger players. It says here that the Penguins will need the same from both of their rookies, Zach Aston-Reese and Dominik Simon:
• Trotz doubts that Braden Holtby can beat the Penguins.
If that comes across as some forced hot take, so be it. But I'm not the one who benched Holtby for the Capitals' visit to PPG Paints Arena earlier this month because the coach wanted Philipp Grubauer "get a start in this building," and I'm not the one who put Grubauer between the pipes for the first two games against Columbus. Trotz did that, and all concerned -- including Holtby himself -- certainly know why.
If not, here's a refresher: Over his otherwise outstanding Vezina Trophy-winning career, Holtby is 33-31 in the playoffs with a 1.99 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage that's -- get this -- the second-best in playoff history. But against the Penguins, he's 5-8 with a .908 save percentage. And in three starts against the Penguins this past regular season, nothing changed: He went 1-2 and gave up 10 goals on 97 shots.
Add those up, and he's either overdue for a violent correction or a quick hook.
"Obviously, we knew chances were you'd have to go through them at some point," Holtby told reporters in Columbus after beating the Blue Jackets. "We've prepared well. I think we've used the year to better our team. Our focus now is just on Game 1. For us, it doesn't matter the team we're playing."
Oh, please.
• There won't be any changes to the Penguins' defense for Game 1, from what I gather. Nor should there be.
• Not sure I've ever covered playoff newcomers as cool to the situation as both Oleksiak and Riley Sheahan. Here's the latter talking yesterday about replacing Evgeni Malkin on the second line alongside Phil Kessel and maybe Carl Hagelin:
Just another day in the cubicle for that guy.
• The injury focus before this series is rightly on Malkin and Hagelin, but the Capitals might be without Andre Burakovsky, a skilled forward who builds up loads of speed in the neutral zone. He sustained an upper-body injury in Game 2 against Columbus, one that required minor surgery and had him immediately ruled out of the remainder of that series by Trotz. That's a rarity for any coach in the playoffs unless someone's really hurt.
Trotz can deploy two strong forward lines, but the other two are iffy. Burakovsky's absence doesn't help.
• It's beyond absurd -- but yet so very NHL -- that this league, as this is being typed very late Tuesday night, doesn't announce what day -- that's day! -- Game 2 of this series will be played. I don't care what the reasons are, TV or otherwise. That's garage-league stuff. Fans, players, arena managers and everyone else involved deserve better.
At least one team felt compelled to deflect complaints to the appropriate source:
A complete Second Round schedule will be announced when available.
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) April 24, 2018
• If Rick Nash, hockey's very own Mr. October, scores in tonight's Game 7, the Earth ceases to rotate on its axis. Stock up on the Doritos.
• For breathtaking perspective: If the Penguins beat the Capitals again, they'll become the fourth team in NHL history to win 10 consecutive playoff series, only the second when every series was best-of-seven. The other was the Canadiens in 1956-60, though they reached 10 by winning two series each year in a six-team league.
My man Paul Steigerwald calls this "the golden age of hockey in Pittsburgh," and this is why. Enjoy it!
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Penguins practice, Lemieux Sports Complex, April 24, 2018 - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS