COLUMBUS -- Were you bleary-eyed this morning after staying up late to watch the Columbus Blue Jackets and Washington Capitals play another overtime game in the Eastern Conference First Round on Tuesday?
Imagine how the Blue Jackets and Capitals felt when they woke up Wednesday after going to overtime for the third time in as many games. They went 9:00 into the second overtime before
the Capitals prevailed 3-2
on center Lars Eller's rebound goal in Game 3 at Nationwide Arena.
Capitals, Blue Jackets working overtime in playoffs
Foes fighting fatigue after first three games of first-round series go past regulation
Understandably, Washington and Columbus each canceled practice Wednesday to give the players extra time off the ice to recover before Game 4 here Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; USA, SN, TVAS2, FS-O, NBCSWA). The Blue Jackets lead the best-of-7 series 2-1.
"Today is about getting your body back to normal after a long night, and tomorrow we'll refocus on the task at hand and trying to get the next game," Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. "From our standpoint, we let the guys have a little space because the playoffs, they're intensity-packed days and series when you're playing and sometimes that can wear on you."
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The Blue Jackets, who won the first two games of the series in Washington in overtime, took a similar approach with their players on the day off between games.
"Today, they're at home," coach John Tortorella said. "We'll have a pregame skate tomorrow and that may even be an optional. Quite honestly, this time of year it's about the games. Our schedule was a little spread out early in the series, but now we're going every other day. So, they'll come in tomorrow [and] I'll give them the option. What I put on the board is, 'Whatever you think is best for you to start the game tonight.' I trust them. I let them make the call as far as being on the ice or not.
"This is part of playoff hockey. It's a game of attrition as you keep on going and we're just still in the infant stage of playoff hockey."
Trotz said some players might receive treatment from the training staff or spend time in the hot tub or ice tub to help their bodies recover.
"Some guys will do some stretching. Some guys like to work out," Trotz said. "Everybody has their own routine to get their bodies feeling right. I think you'll find that the older guys will want to do something today to keep the body moving a little bit. I think younger guys probably are a little easier to get the body moving the next day. Everybody has their own ways of getting ready."
These are the times when the all the work the players put in on and off ice during the summer, in training camp and over the course of the season, pays off.
"I think we're in real good condition for this time of the year," Blue Jackets forward Nick Foligno said. "I don't think any guys worry about that. It's just a matter of making sure we're doing the things on the ice that help our team."
Game 3 was the longest in Blue Jackets history (89:00), surpassing their 4-3 win in Game 2 of the 2014 Eastern Conference First Round against the Pittsburgh Penguins, which ended 1:10 into the second overtime (81:10). In four trips to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in their 17-season history, the Blue Jackets are 4-2 in overtime games.
That's nothing compared to the Capitals. This is the second straight year they've opened the playoffs with three consecutive overtime games. In fact, their six-game win against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round last season tied the NHL single-series record with five overtime games.
Dating back to their Eastern Conference Second Round series against the Penguins in 2016, the Capitals have gone to overtime in 12 of their past 22 playoff games; they're 6-6 in those games, two of them requiring double overtime.
That's a lot of extra hockey. In this series, the Blue Jackets and Capitals have played 47:24 of overtime, closing in on a full extra game.
"The legs are definitely tired. I would be lying if I said they weren't," Capitals forward Tom Wilson said after the game Tuesday. "I think you can tell just on the pace of play. Guys are sitting here battling. That's why you take care of your body. That's why you're an athlete. That's what the [fitness] skate test is for in September, I guess. The guys will be recovering from here on it, getting some ice tubs or whatever."
This has become routine for the Capitals after so many playoff overtime games. Rest takes precedence over practice. Whatever energy can be conserved might be needed if they go beyond 60 minutes again Thursday.
"The playoffs are about a test of will, even if it's not overtime," Trotz said. "What I think overtime makes you do is concentrate when you're tired. You have to stay in that moment. You can't cut that corner. You can't do that fly-by when you're really tired. You can't cheat because those are the times when that puck ends up in the back of the net. It just happens.
"When you're tired or you're battling through something, you have to have a really strong focus and mental toughness."
