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ARLINGTON Mathew Barzal Jersey , Va. (AP) One of the lasting images from the Capitals‘ playoff run came the morning of Game 7 in the Eastern Conference final.Usually Alex Ovechkin hustles around the rink in a hot lap prior to the morning skate. Only this time it was 55-year-old coach Barry Trotz, who answered the call from his players to do the lap.”I was worried about the turns,” Trotz said. ”The rudders haven’t been sharpened all year. … I almost bit it at the end there trying to imitate Ovi.”The Capitals beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-0 that night to punch their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final, but they might’ve won Game 7 at that moment. Rarely in previous postseasons had Trotz been that relaxed, the result of an unusual situation.Trotz went into the season without – and still doesn’t have – a contract for next season, a circumstance that almost never happens to an experienced coach of a team with legitimate postseason hopes. But in a strange way, being a lame-duck coach might’ve helped Trotz not feel the pressure of past early exits and played a positive role in getting this far.”I think it could be the same effect on a player, too, that’s becoming a free agent,” general manager Brian MacLellan said Friday. ”He’s basically becoming a free agent as a coach, and what effect does that have? Do you have your best year when you’re a free agent?”Trotz has. Even with the fifth-most victories of any coach in NHL history, until this spring he hadn’t made it past the second round in 18 previous seasons with the Nashville Predators and Capitals. He called it ”luck of the draw,” running into championship-bound teams from Detroit, Chicago and Pittsburgh.This improbable Capitals run that continues with Game 1 of the Cup Final on Monday in Las Vegas is not luck. It’s parts Ovechkin and goaltender Braden Holtby, and also the right moves by Trotz. He called on Philipp Grubauer to start the first round in goal before switching to Holtby in Game 2 against Columbus and watching him get on a roll. He put Jakub Vrana on the top line not long before the rookie scored the winner in Game 5 against the Penguins and pushed all the right buttons on rest and preparation.Teams tend to read cues from a head coach http://www.islandersfanproshop.com/authentic-nick-leddy-jersey , and those have been positive.”I think his demeanor has changed a little bit,” MacLellan said. ”He seems a little lighter, a little looser, a little less pressure, maybe a little more freedom in terms of how he goes about things.”Despite back-to-back Presidents’ Trophies, MacLellan and Capitals management didn’t offer Trotz an extension.Before the playoffs, Trotz said he hadn’t lost any sleep over his status and referred questions to MacLellan and owner Ted Leonsis. In March, Leonsis said he doesn’t talk about contracts, and MacLellan has repeatedly stated that any talks would wait until after the playoffs. There are currently no vacancies in the NHL.Toronto’s Mike Babcock is the highest-paid coach at $6.25 million, Chicago’s Joel Quenneville is next at $6 million and Montreal’s Claude Julien comes in at $5 million. Those three have combined to win the Cup five times.Trotz’s price tag has gone up however the Final goes against the Golden Knights.”He’s probably going to benefit from this, too,” MacLellan said. ”I think he’s done a good job managing it. To come in this year with so many questions – not from my point of view the lineup questions were that a big deal – but just the emotional state of our team coming in to start the year and how to handle that, I think he’s done an outstanding job.”Trotz survived a 10-9-1 start that culminated with 6-3 and 6-2 losses at Nashville and Colorado, and the Capitals winning 12 of their next 14 games might have saved his job. Players’ response to Trotz reading them the riot act showed he certainly hadn’t lost the room.But a journey of self-discovery last summer went beyond not having a contract.”It gave me just some clarity on what defines me, what defines us Womens Wayne Simmonds Jersey , what defines you,” Trotz said. ”If you don’t win any awards or anything, I’m not going to look at you any different. If you’re a good person and you treat people right and you live your life right, then I’m going to think really highly of you. If you don’t, I’m not going to think so much of you. And I started getting that clarity that everybody looks for the wrong in people rather than the right and it gave me a lot of clarity. And some things happened in my life that allowed me to see that and it’s been good.”Happy, relaxed Trotz has made more appearances in these playoffs than buttoned-down, terse Trotz. He hasn’t soured amid the road bumps this postseason.The Capitals have followed Trotz’s even-keeled approach and even been upbeat following losses. Like his players, he’s enjoying the ride.”Playoffs are fun,” Trotz said. ”They are a grind. But they’re fun. And they should be treated as fun. They’re sort of all the hard that you have to put in just to get there and it takes even more hard work to go farther, but it is fun. I’m finding I’m having a blast during the games.”—More Stanley Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/StanleyCupFinals— A few weeks ago, the Pittsburgh Penguins sat in last place in the Eastern Conference. On Saturday, they face the team that replaced them in that spot.A 3-1-2 stretch has lifted Pittsburgh (10-9-5) a couple rungs out of last place and the Philadelphia Flyers (10-12-2) have fallen into last, thanks to losing six of their past seven games, going into the teams’ meeting at PPG Paints Arena.Things are bad enough with the Flyers that they fired general manager Ron Hextall earlier this week, and that leaves the future of coach Dave Hakstol in question. Not to mention personnel changes.Article continues below ...“Our job is to win http://www.senatorsshoponline.com/authentic-bobby-ryan-jersey , and right now we’re not doing that,” Philadelphia center Sean Couturier told the Burlington County Times. “A (possible) trade or whatever is part of the business.“We have to turn the switch on. We’re still pretty confident in this group. We have some talent. We have some skill. It’s about going out there and proving it.”This is the first meeting of the season between the longtime bitter and cross-state rivals, and their first game since the Penguins ousted the Flyers in the first round of the playoffs last spring.Given the nature of the rivalry, Pittsburgh isn’t counting on a down-and-out opponent.“We obviously know they have really good players, high-end players,” Penguins winger Jake Guentzel, who had 13 points in six games in the opening-round win last spring, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.“They’re a good team. We know it’s going to be an emotional game, a rivalry game. We have to expect their best and have our best.”Pittsburgh could get feisty winger Patric Hornqvist back. He has missed three games because of a concussion.Hornqvist returned to practice Friday.“I was back out there, and I felt good,” Hornqvist said. “It’s heading in the right direction.”He had four goals and eight points in five games before he got hurt.Both clubs have had some trouble with the goaltending spot, particularly Philadelphia, which has used five goalies this season for a combined .879 save percentage, worst in the NHL, and a 3.58 goals-against average.De facto starter Brian Elliott is expected to miss another week or so because of a lower-body injury.Michal Neuvirth has played just one game because of injuries Chris Wideman Jersey , but he could return from a groin injury to start against the Penguins.Like Couturier, Neuvirth wonders if Hextall’s firing is just a first step.“If you don’t start winning games, more changes are going to come,” he said.Pittsburgh is without No. 1 goalie Matt Murray, who went on injured reserve on Thanksgiving and is out “longer term,” according to coach Mike Sullivan, because of a lower-body injury.Before his injury, Murray, a two-time Stanley Cup winner, was struggling. He has a 4.08 goals-against average and an .877 save percentage.Sullivan said the Penguins have a time frame in mind for Murray’s return, but he declined to reveal it.Young goaltenders Casey DeSmith and Tristan Jarry are filling in for Murray. It appears DeSmith will get the larger share of the work, and he is expected to start against the Flyers.