Heading into the second round of the playoffs against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Capitals coach Barry Trotz predicted Washington was over any postseason jitters the team might felt while struggling to put away the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“It’s like a firefighter going to his first fire,” Trotz said. “You know, he’s prepared. He’s prepared all year and put all the work in. Now he has to go into that first fire and its just different. It ramps up. It’s intense. It’s exciting and it’s fun. All those things, all those emotions go through.
“And once you go through it, you go, ‘I can handle it.