Brooks Orpik and T.J. Oshie sat next to each other on the team plane as the Capitals’ 2-1 victory Monday over the Pittsburgh Penguins was still setting in. For once, they could take a moment to relax. The two teammates didn’t have to worry about the possibility of another Game 7 at home.
Instead, they could appreciate the road it took to make it past the second round.
Even Orpik, who won a Stanley Cup with the Penguins in 2009, knew how tough the journey had been.
“It was funny,” Orpik said. “T.J. said, he wasn’t going to hold that against them, but he’s like ‘These damn young guys, they just walk right into this and they probably think this is going to happen every single year.