NEW YORK – Undressing at his locker stall following the Washington Capitals’ morning skate Wednesday, defenseman Brooks Orpik turned around and found a reporter asking to chat. They were hours away from facing the New York Rangers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, after two painstaking days of waiting, and by now Orpik had been all talked out. The do-or-die matchup was upon him. What much more could be asked? What much more could be answered?
“I don’t got much for you,” he said. “We just need to play this game.”
Orpik eventually relented when a larger crowd gathered, but a similar sentiment flowed through both dressing rooms.