I hope they realize that they CAN lose. I like that he’s confident, but this sounds like hubris to me

Confidence is a great thing. But the confidence that “we can come back from anything” sounds like the mentality that leads to 1) defensemen being casual on the breakout 2) defensemen taking extra risks pinching, leaving theo out to dry 3) just general risky behavior, like the patented sasha cross ice path just inside the offensive blue line. I feel like our team’s belief that they can always comes back might influence some of the risky behavior in the first 30-40 minutes. Hopefully not though.

“It just seems that this team doesn’t believe it can lose.” That’s what Robert E. Lee said about his army before Gettysburg.

Not for the first part, but for the last part, they’ve shown that they can comeback from almost any situation and win (or at least take it to a shootout). Come back from being behind by 3 goals, check. Come back from behind 3 goals and having your captain/top goal scorer ejected against the 2nd best team in the NHL, check. Come back from being behind by 3 goals and switching your goalies, check. Come back from down 2-0 in a shootout to win against the team with the best shootout win % in the NHL, check.

Comebacks are great, a lot of fun to watch and the guys has been rather outstanding at them this year but this is the playoffs. Overpowering a team in the 3rd period may not be quite as easy as during the regular season. I would be much happier if they just don’t get themselves in that position.

Teams can draw confidence from knowing they can get it done, and get it done against ALL levels of competition. This doesn’t fall into the hubris category, IMO.

I love the confidence and the season these guys are having but there is indeed a fine line between confidence and stupidity – hope everyone on the team understands that…

They said something along these lines during the Streak, too — for a while, it was a successful self-fulfilling prophecy.

Just don’t be complacent, boys.

Going into any playoff series thinking you can’t lose can be a two-edged sword. On the positve side, it raises the confidence level individually for each player and collectively for the team to work together to reach their ultimate goal.

 The downside is, if somehow the other team scores first, if a soft goal is let in or the other team gets a lucky bounce, the Caps could abandon their game plan, start to squeeze their sticks too hard, or try to do too much as individuals. The key is to stay on an even keel, stay the course, and stick with what has worked for them on their way to a record-breaking season.

Leadership is crucial, as the playoffs test Captains and Alternates to keep their team mates focused and on the same page. Somewhere, sometime, down the road the Caps will face a crucial test. That’s when Ovie and the other team leaders will have to make a difference between winning or losing a game, and possibly a series.