‘We’re Not All Old’: Capitals’ Johansson Pushes Back On Concerns

WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals knew they were in for a tough contest on Saturday, facing the young and fast Los Angeles Kings. Down 2-0 heading into the third, the Capitals veteran group came together, and their experience and recent comeback performances led to a four-goal explosion and an ultimate 4-3 victory.

Marcus Johansson, 32, played hero, as he and veterans Nic Dowd, 32, John Carlson, 32, and Lars Eller, 33, struck to power Washington to the comeback win. Plus, Dmitry Orlov, 31, had three assists while T.J. Oshie, 35, notched his fifth point in six games.

The longer-tenured guys proved vital in the victory, as the Capitals, who are the second-oldest team in the NHL with an average age of 29.67, were able to keep up with the Kings, who are the seventh-youngest group in the league with an average age of 26.54.

While the veterans did play a big role, Johansson wanted to make one thing clear: age is just a number for Washington.

“We’re not all old,” he insisted. “I think we still have some guys that can move and skate. We got some d-men back there that can fly, too. Experience is a good thing. We got guys that can play all situations… we’re missing some key pieces right now in our team, and we still have guys that can go out there and pick up some big minutes. The experience plays into that.”

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Dowd agreed with Johansson, saying that while the group does have a lot of 30+ players, it’s a good thing. In fact, having several experienced players who have learned a lot over the course of their lengthy careers pays off.

“There’s no hiding that we’re a veteran team. We got a lot of leadership in this locker room,” Dowd said. Not just the captains; obviously those guys have been doing it a long time, and it starts with them. Like I said, we have a veteran squad… I think we played well the whole game our penalty game was good. I thought our power play was really good. Darc played really well. So happy we got rewarded at the end.”