LOVERRO: Capitals have been searching for key to playoff success for years

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

I spent some time researching what is wrong with the Washington Capitals when it comes to playoff hockey. I studied puck possessions, line changes, all sorts of data and details. And I came up with this.

“We have to make some traffic. We have to make some rebounds.” — Alex Ovechkin, 2009.

“I think as you can see we’ve been struggling a little bit, but we just have to work harder and get some more shots and do the basic things like get traffic in front of the net. I think that’s the thing. We’ve been successful the whole season. It’s kind of weird that we’re not scoring right now. We have to pick it up.” — Nicklas Backstrom, 2010.

“I don’t think you can ever get enough. It is easy to say, ’Let’s get traffic.’ Everyone understands the phrase, but it is not as easy to do as you’d like to do. Their defense is really good and blocking out and sometimes the opportunity is not there to get traffic. The point man has to have time to shoot the puck and you’ve got to have time to get from the corner to the front of the net. We did as much as we could, but we’d like to do more. Every team would like to do more.” — Bruce Boudreau, 2011.

“[Henrik Lundqvist is] a top goalie, and you can see how he play right now, especially in Game 2 when we have lots of chances on him. You just have to find lots of traffic, maybe find the rebound. It can’t be clear shot. It have to be like somebody stand in front of the net because if he is going to see the puck, he is going to save it.” — Ovechkin, 2013.

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“We’ve got to create traffic in front of the net, especially when we had that five-on-three.” — Backstrom, 2014.

Here’s a change of pace — a voice from the opposing net:

“A lot of these games, it comes down to will. How badly do you want it? Teams are so even that it comes down to a battle in the corner, in front of the net, all over the ice. It’s one-on-one battles against your opponent. If you want it bad enough, I think you’re going to have a good chance.” — Henrik Lundqvist, 2015, after the New York Rangers recovered from a 3-1 series deficit to defeat the Capitals in seven games.

“We had a lot of shots but didn’t have traffic in front of the net. We are strong and can win battles in front of the net, get rebounds. We have to have bodies in front of the net.” — Ovechkin, April 22, less than two weeks ago, after Game 5 against the Philadelphia Flyers.

“Can we get more traffic? Yeah, but they create their own traffic, too, because they collapse and there’s five guys in the crease a lot.” — Barry Trotz on Tuesday, following Washington’s 3-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 3 to go down, 2-1, in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Are you sensing a pattern here? Do you think I may have stumbled onto something?

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It is one of hockey’s cliches, but traffic in front of the net appears to be the path to the Stanley Cup.

In 1998 — the glorious single season this franchise won the Eastern Conference and made it to the Stanley Cup Final — the Capitals signed veteran free agent Brian Bellows, whose career appeared to be over and was playing in Germany, in late March. Bellows parked himself in front of opposing nets and never left, scoring six goals in the final 11 regular-season games and another 13 points in 21 playoff games.

We haven’t seen the likes of him in Washington since.

It is the grunt work of the game, but, as Lundqvist said, “It comes down to a battle in the corner, in front of the net, all over the ice. It’s one-on-one battles against your opponent. If you want it bad enough, I think you’re going to have a good chance.”

A lot of those quotes are from Ovechkin and Backstrom about a lack of traffic in front of the net. I assume they mean other people, so is the problem that the rosters built around them have failed to include the grunts who support the stars?

Or, maybe someone might suggest they take matters into their own sticks.