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ARLINGTON Custom New York Rangers Jerseys , Va. (AP)Capitals have tried to win in the playoffs, none has been as effective as this.They pushed the pace with speed and skill when Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom were part of the ”Young Guns.” They made every game a coin flip with tight, Dale Hunter hockey. Each time, an early exit followed.This year is different. Suddenly, the Capitals are a suffocating defensive team that clogs the middle of the ice and makes even the fastest of opponents look slow.The Vegas Golden Knights are the latest to get frustrated by Washington’s neutral-zone pressure that took a toll on Columbus, Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay, paving the way for this run to the Stanley Cup Final. After cruising through three rounds with ease, nothing looks easy right now for Vegas because the Capitals have mastered the art of frustration, and are two wins away from hoisting the Cup for the first time.”Offensive teams have certain tendencies, certain routes that they take through the neutral zone, plays they like to make, so if you can be on top of them and turn over some pucks, stifle them, make it hard for them to gain entry with possession www.officialsenators.com , that frustrates skilled players,” defenseman Matt Niskanen said Sunday. ”If you can be in their face, just standing in the way, it’s amazing what that does.”It’s amazing the transformation the Capitals have made since coach Barry Trotz challenged players late in the regular season to embrace this approach. It was clear as early as Game 4 of the first round that the 1-1-3 trap in the neutral zone had the ability to essentially shut down the opposing attack, and since the first two playoff games Washington is 10-2 when scoring first.The Golden Knights have found how difficult it is to try to come back against the Capitals and need to adjust quickly down 2-1 in the Cup Final going into Game 4 Monday night. They have to make some adjustments before it’s too late.”Our guys who have a lot of speed can go back deeper, gather some speed,” winger David Perron said. ”Then the defensemen can try to freeze the first forechecker, kick it wide. These guys coming with speed, if they’re confronted, which they will be most times at the blue line, you can put it in and go on the forecheck. You can have guys hang close to the right wing or up top, and as the puck is coming your way, win the one-on-one battle with support. … We also have to try to not let them set up, so if there’s a turnover Ottawa Senators T-Shirts Authentic , a quick one, we can punt it up, go back on offense.”The Penguins and Lightning tried that and couldn’t crack the Capitals well enough to advance.”They’re really good at slowing you down,” Lightning forward J.T. Miller said during the Eastern Conference final. ”Right when you want to just chip it and go, there’s a guy, there’s a wall there, and guys are ready to go back and get it on the other side. … It’s just their ability to stand up and make you force plays because it looks like there’s more ice than there is, and then all of a sudden they do a good job of staying in front and retrieving pucks.”Vegas is built on speed, but it’s hard to harness it if players can’t get blue line to blue line with the puck to create any offense. When the Capitals took a lead in Game 3, they went into their now-patented scheme.”It’s just kind of a group mentality to make life difficult on them,” winger Tom Wilson said. ”I think that’s when we’re at our best as a team is when we’re playing physical, we’re taking away time and space, making it difficult on their top guys.”That difficulty wears on a team, and Trotz said it’s noticeable when an opponent tries to change its game and manage the puck differently to counterbalance the trap. When it works effectively Ottawa Senators Hoodies Authentic , not only does it limit changes against, but it creates the kind of odd-man rushes that have paced Washington’s offense this postseason.”It’s important to recognize moments when you can pressure, and we don’t want to get away from that, where we can send two guys and try to force teams into mistakes,” Niskanen said. ”If you can hold either the red line or the blue line with layers of support, you can force teams into turnovers, and we’ve done a good job of that.”—More Stanley Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/StanleyCupFinals— OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) Mike Hoffman’s 100th career goal was a real gem.Hoffman went end-to-end before slipping a shot past Juuse Saros 3:01 into overtime, lifting the Ottawa Senators to a 4-3 victory against the Nashville Predators on Thursday night.”It was good to hit a milestone like that and it makes it even more special when it’s an overtime winner,” Hoffman said. ”I guess it couldn’t have happened at a better time.”Chris DiDomenico, Max McCormick and Magnus Paajarvi also scored as Ottawa (19-25-9) won for the fourth time in five games. Craig Anderson made 35 saves for his 15th win of the season.”I think we’ve got guys stepping up,” Anderson said. ”When someone goes down with an injury another guy can fill that role and take advantage of that time. We’ve got guys coming in and competing and we’re playing pretty well as a team right now.”P.K. Subban scored twice for the Predators (32-12-9), and Calle Jarnkrok picked up his 13th goal. Saros stopped 32 shots.Nashville moved into a first-place tie with Winnipeg in the Central Division with 73 points apiece, but the Predators were disappointed to have the extra point slip away.”We want to be the best team in the league and we had an opportunity to possibly do that and we didn’t get it Ottawa Senators Hats Authentic ,” said Subban. ”It was a good effort to at least get a point out of it, but we have to learn. The last two games we haven’t been able to play a full 60 minutes and we have to learn from that.”Veteran forward Kyle Turris returned to Ottawa for the first time since he was traded to the Predators in November. He received a standing ovation during a video tribute in the first period.”It was really nice of the Sens organization to do,” Turris said. ”The support from the fans, the video they put together that encompasses my six years here, I loved it. It’s a great organization and I was very thankful to be a part of it.”Turris shared a few moments with his former teammates on the ice and admitted it was nice to be able to have some fun with the situation.The Predators tied it at 3 when Subban ripped a shot past Anderson with under five minutes remaining in regulation.The Senators scored two second-period goals to take a 3-2 lead after 40 minutes.McCormick, who was recalled from the minors on Tuesday, cut to the net and rang a shot in off the post for his third career goal. Ottawa took the lead on Paajarvi’s first with the Senators on a wraparound midway through the period.”There were so many great story lines in this game from so many players,” Senators coach Guy Boucher said. ”You can really call this a solid team win.”Senators captain Erik Karlsson moved into sole possession of third place on the franchise’s points list (492) with an assist on Paajarvi’s goal.Subban opened the scoring 34 seconds into the game when his shot deflected in off Cody Ceci’s skate, but the Senators tied it on DiDomenico’s second in as many games. He took a pass in the slot and beat Saros with a wrist shot.The Predators regained the lead on Jarnkrok’s goal.NOTES: Ottawa’s Jean-Gabriel Pageau played his 300th career game. … Ottawa F Alex Burrows served his first of a 10-game suspension for kneeing New Jersey’s Taylor Hall on Tuesday night. Burrows decided not to appeal the suspension. … Ottawa was also without Mark Stone (knee), Derick Brassard (mobility), Bobby Ryan (hand), Nate Thompson (lower body) and Gabriel Dumont (lower body). … Nashville’s Filip Forsberg served his third of a three-game suspension for his hit on Rangers forward Jimmy Vesey.UP NEXTPredators: At Montreal on Saturday night.Senators: At Toronto on Saturday night.