WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Just how much do the so-called playoff demons dance in a player's head at this time of year when he's faced with adversity?
It's a question worth asking for the next couple of days, before the Washington Capitals, the NHL's top team by a mile during the regular season, face elimination Saturday night in Game 5 against the rival Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Capitals are a franchise with some playoff baggage. This was supposed to be the year they finally jettisoned it. And it may still be.
Former Caps winger Mike Knuble, for one, doesn't put much stock in the notion that the past gets into the heads of current players.