The scene is all too familiar now. The long and tortured Stanley Cup playoff history of the Capitals means little to the current generation of players. None of them were born or raised here, after all.

But the stinging defeats of recent years are taking an obvious toll. In the Alex Ovechkin era, Washington has made the playoff six years in a row. They have advanced to the second round three times. They have been eliminated in the first round three times, including 5-0 Monday night in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the New York Rangers.

“We were in the series right now. That’s where it’s disappointing,” center Nicklas Backstrom said. “But it feels like déjà vu.”

Frustration, anger, hurt, confusion…it was all on display yet again in another somber postgame scene in the home locker room. What was left was a team coming to grips with the notion that time is passing swiftly. Chances to compete for a Stanley Cup are fleeting. Does doubt start to creep in?

“A little bit. I don’t know if that’s the right mentality. I’m sure it’s not the right mentality,” defenseman Karl Alzner said. “But we all play this game to win and when you see one year after another year disappointments…[Former Caps forward] Mike Knuble would tell us that you blink and the next thing you know you’re in your last couple of years and you haven’t made it to the finals even. You don’t want to see the time tick away. You want to at least get a taste of it before you’re done.”

Mike Green, Alzner’s defense partner, has been here for every excruciating playoff loss dating to 2008. The overtime goal at home against Philadelphia in Game 7. The crushing 6-2 defeat at home in Game 7 against Pittsburgh (2009) and the one that topped them all – Game 7 against Montreal (2010). There was the Tampa Bay loss where a hot team ran into another buzzsaw. And, of course, last year’s 2-1 Game heartbreaker in Game 7 at Madison Square Garden. Now this – a 5-0 Game 7 drubbing that brought back memories of the Pittsburgh loss.

“There’s no point in talking about [the past],” forward Eric Fehr said. “We’re living right now and we lost. That’s it.”

Green was asked during his postgame scrum with reporters if Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist was the difference in the series. He gave appropriate credit, lamented how the Caps got away from their game plan on scoring against him…and then sputtered. Green looked away and shook his head. There were no answers to be found.

“This is the best team that we’ve been on,” Green said. “We had the depth, we had the coaching, the structure, the system. Things that happen during series that just seem for whatever reason at the wrong time happen to us. That’s no reflection of the guys in the dressing room or how bad we wanted it. The heart and the depth of the guys throughout the lineup is not the reflection of how it should end.”

Follow me on Twitter @bmcnally14

1. So here we are again. Last year the Capitals and the New York Rangers were tied 2-2 in a best-of-seven Stanley Cup playoff series and Washington was moments away from securing Game 5. Instead, a late Joel Ward penalty led to a game-tying goal by Brad Richards with just seconds remaining. Madison Square Garden exploded and Washington wilted in a devastating overtime loss. The Caps survived Game 6 at home, but ultimately were dispatched in a bitter Game 7 loss in New York.

The tables are turned now. On Friday night at Verizon Center, Washington controlled play in the second and third period and finally, finally broke through with an overtime game winner by veteran center Mike Ribeiro at 9:24 of the extra period. This time the Rangers are left facing elimination at home in Game 6. This time the Caps were the ones joyously careening around their locker room after Game 5. Maybe home-ice advantage really does matter. The road team has yet to win a game in this series. Game 6 will now be at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon in New York.

2. It hasn't been an easy stretch of hockey for Caps center Mike Ribeiro. The man who was so productive early in the season as the losses mounted and the frustration grew, had yet to score a goal in the best-of-seven Stanley Cup playoff series with the New York Rangers.

But Ribeiro has made his two points count. The first was a fake slap shot that became a pass to defenseman Mike Green for the overtime winner in Game 2. The second was a goal of his own on Friday night when a Karl Alzner point shot was deflected by Troy Brouwer right to Ribeiro, who slammed the puck into the vacant right side of the net for a 2-1 victory.

Ribeiro had two goals and 13 assists in his previous 19 games, including four in the playoffs. Through the first 22 games of the season he had nine goals and 19 assists.

[Ribeiro] was pretty much carrying us for most of the season, just point after point," Alzner said. "It's nice to see him put a goal in. good for his confidence. We got that guy going, it's a big threat on the second line."

But his recent slump had carried over into the postseason. The second line as a unit had just Ribeiro's assist and Brouwer's Game 3 goal to show through the first 16 periods of the series - four games plus Friday's contest through regulation. But Ribeiro insisted his confidence wasn't shaken.

"No, just a lot of times way I play is the next shift is a new one," Ribeiro said. "You'll make a mistake or you'll get mad at the refs one shift, but you need to get, especially in playoffs, you stay soggy a bit for a few shifts, but playoff time you don't have time to waste your energy on the shift that just passed."

Ribeiro joked that he did some pushups to better prepare for the faceoff circle on Friday. He won 19 of 27 faceoffs (70 percent) on Friday two days after going 2-for-11 in Game 4 on Wednesday. Whatever the reason, he was better prepared to deal with New York's centers.

"Last game I had a bad game in the circle and a lot of times when you have good games in the circle your focus is better, you start with the puck, you're not chasing as much," Ribeiro said. "It was important for me to bounce back. I think I had two and nine last game so it was important for me to be strong in that circle and start with the puck and play well defensively. I felt like last game I was cheating a bit defensively and I think if you play well positioning and work hard good things will happen."

3. Yes, Ribeiro's goal was the biggest play of the game Friday night. But back-to-back penalty kills late in the second period gave the Caps a chance at all. Defensemen Jack Hillen (holding) and John Carlson (delay-of-game) put their team in a rough spot. But some stellar penalty killing kept New York off the board four almost four full minutes and kept the game tied 1-1.

"It gave us a little bit of momentum," defenseman John Erskine said. "But the big thing is guys are paying the price - they're blocking shots and just blocking out. We're getting the job done. It was a big part of our win [Friday]."

New York managed just three shots on goal. The Caps blocked seven during that stretch. Paying the price, indeed. Erskine alone had three. Matt Hendricks had one, Steve Oleksy had another. So did Karl Alzner and Hillen. They could have wilted when - just 15 seconds after Hillen's penalty was killed, Carson flung the puck over the glass in the defensive zone for his penalty. But Washington rallied and responded again. New York's power play is now 2-for-21 in the series.

"That was a tough part of the game," Alzner said. "We were all getting a little bit tired, the killers right there when we took two in a row and Carly logs a lot of penalty-kill minutes, so it's tough to have him in the box. I hate that call just as much as anybody, puck going over the glass, so I knew how badly we need to kill that for him."

4. Ribeiro made another big contribution aside from the winning goal. His half cross-check, half push so incensed Rangers forward Brian Boyle that he slashed Ribeiro at 7:33 of the second period. The problem? New York was off on a 3-on-1 rush up ice and the whistle put a stop to that. To compound the issue, the Caps needed just 11 seconds for Joel Ward to register the power play goal and tie the game 1-1

"Dumb penalty and you don't kill those off," Rangers coach John Tortorella said. "It just happens that way in our game. And that's a guy that's playing well for us, but it's a dumb penalty."

Ribeiro gave his side of the story: "It was a big play in the game: I don't know. I went to the net, he fell down, I cross-checked him, he turned around and give me a good whack on my calves, but good thing is I don't have much [muscle] there so it didn't hurt."

"That's a big goal for us. We had a hard time the last few games on the power play," Ribeiro said. "Keeps us in game, we don't have to chase, focus better after that and you saw after that, I don't know if they have a shot in third period. We came pretty hard after that."

5. Oates decided to change his defensive partners in the second period of Friday's game. He moved Jack Hillen up with John Carlson while a struggling John Erskine down to the third pair with Steve Oleksy. He did so at the suggestion of defensive assistant coach Calle Johansson.

"I've played with [Oleksy] before when I came back off injury [in March]. We've been watching each other all year, we know each other's habits so they want to switch the pairings up it's nothing to us."

Erskine took line rushes at Saturday's practice and was back with Carlson so maybe that was just an in-game adjustment that won't stick. He was on the ice for Boyle's first-period goal and struggled with several turnovers early.

"It's not easy," Alzner said. "I know what that's like, though, to change a partner and sometimes it can be tough. But the guys did a good job with that. I don't think it affected us too much. We're lucky that the guys are all pros and they know how to figure it out."

bmcnally@washingtonexaminer.com

The Angels took pitcher C.J. Wilson and outfielder Josh Hamilton from the Texas Rangers each of the last two winters. But those poachings don't seem to have hurt their A.L. West rivals. Instead, Texas was off to a 14-7 start entering play on Thursday and has already swiped four of six games from Los Angeles this season.

Their top-notch farm system is the biggest reason the Rangers have been able to withstand such losses. But an expenditure of their own last winter -- the signing of Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish -- might be the biggest reason Texas is still the team to beat in the division.

Darvish is already 4-1 with a 1.65 ERA in five starts. He has also beaten the Angels twice, including six shutout innings on Wednesday in an 11-3 win over Los Angeles. Darvish didn't need to go much further than that. He struck out 11 batters and walked just two. The Angeles also managed just three hits off him. And while they did better in a first meeting on April 7 -- three runs, six hits, four walks in five innings -- Texas still won 7-3 that night, too.

Darvish leads the majors in strikeouts with 49. No one else was within seven entering Thursday's action. He has topped 10 strikeouts three different times this season and whiffed 14 in 8 2/3 one-hit innings against Houston on April 2 in his first start of the season. In all, he's walked just 10 batters and allowed just 16 hits -- less than one every other inning pitched (32 2/3 innings). Those are bona fide ace numbers. Meanwhile, the struggling Angels, even with two of the Rangers' better players added to the payroll, were just 8-12 and had been outscored by 17 runs.

- Brian McNally

bmcnally@washingtonexaminer.com

'Honey Badger' Tyrann Mathieu leaving a sour taste to some

John Keim

April 25, 12:00 AM April 25, 10:50 PM

The Redskins will have a chance to draft LSU corner Tyrann Mathieu. Two years ago, that would have been an exciting possibility. Now? After missing last season because he was kicked off the team, reportedly for multiple positive drug tests? It's far from a no-brainer and, really, it depends on your philosophy.

One longtime general manager who spent time with multiple NFC teams and a former GM both said they would not select Mathieu because of the off-field issues.

"He has talent but is undisciplined and lacks technique," the former GM also said.

But a longtime defensive coach said he would take him and, in the end, it really only matters if Redskins coach Mike Shanahan would. And that will come down to their background investigative work on Mathieu. Keep in mind that Shanahan once selected troubled running back Maurice Clarett in the third round. While Clarett did not get suspended for drugs, the stories about him and his character were worse than those of Mathieu, whose biggest demon is marijuana. That's not to minimize it by any means.

"It's a big deal when it's habitual," the longtime GM said. "That's the point you make. When it's habitual, it's a big thing. Like everyone drinks too, but if you drink every day and live to drink, that's a problem. That's the bottom line. Yeah, we all drink. When it's done socially, casually, in a controlled way, it's nothing. But some guys can't control it and are addicts."

What you shouldn't do: rely on your locker room to save the player. As one Redskins veteran said a few months ago, they were unable to stop Tanard Jackson last year. No one is with a player 24/7.

"Saying 'I'll be the guy to change him?' What do you think they did at LSU when they can police him better because he doesn't have any money?" the longtime GM asked. "He couldn't be in a better situation to monitor him. In the NFL, you have no control over him, so what am I going to do differently to change this guy?"

- John Keim

jkeim@washingtonexaminer.com

Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund played equal parts in redefining the hierarchy of European soccer. But Bayern Munich won't let its rival play on a level field back in Germany.

Borussia Dortmund's 4-1 demolition of Real Madrid on Wednesday in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinals was overshadowed before it kicked off. The day prior, as Bayern Munich rolled over Barcelona, 4-0, news broke that they'd obtained Dortmund midfielder Mario G?tze for a cool $48.2 million next season.

But G?tze might not be alone in his exodus. He could be followed by teammate Robert Lewandowski, who scored all four goals against Real Madrid. Dortmund desperately wants the Polish forward to stick around, but it's akin to Dwight Howard staying in Orlando when the Lakers beckon.

With Barcelona and Real Madrid on life support for the second leg of the semifinals, an all-German championship will be a proud day for the Bundesliga. But it's a shame if it's just a precursor to unabashed poaching by the country's biggest club.

- Craig Stouffer

cstouffer@washingtonexaminer.com

Staying at Louisville wasn't Russdiculous

Kevin Dunleavy

April 24, 12:00 AM April 24, 06:50 PM

On the court, Louisville's Russ Smith is known for his impetuousness. But in remaining with the Cardinals for his senior year, Smith has made a measured decision that undoubtedly pleases and surprises coach Rick Pitino. After the Cardinals won the national championship, Smith's dad declared his son ready for the NBA Draft. Isn't completing his eligibility the last thing to expect from a guy nicknamed Russdiculous?

Louisville will welcome back its top scorer (18.7 ppg), an Associated Press third-team All-American who epitomizes the Cardinals' disruptive, frantic style.

As a narrow-shouldered, 6-foot shooting guard, it's up for debate whether there is a place in the NBA for Smith. He was projected to go in the second round, 33rd overall by draftexpress.com, so there's not much money to be lost by staying. If he makes it in the NBA, he will have to play his way onto a roster regardless. If he's destined for Europe, why not stay another year? He can grow his brand, endear himself to Louisville fans and return as arguably the nation's most recognizable player.

In fact, with Smith, Luke Hancock and Kevin Ware, Louisville will be a rarity -- a college team that enters the season with several well-known and engaging characters. Imagine the buzz when Louisville faces archrival Kentucky, with the veteran backcourt of the Cardinals challenging the heralded Harrison twins, Andrew and Aaron.

After a season in which college basketball suffered from a lack of interest, Smith's choice to stay in school is good for all involved.

- Kevin Dunleavy

kdunleavy@washingtonexaminer.com

In offseason, Wizards hope to skew older

Craig Stouffer

April 24, 12:00 AM April 24, 06:50 PM

The Wizards found out last week they will have the eighth-best odds (3.5 percent) to win next month's draft lottery after losing a tiebreaker with the Detroit Pistons. While they could leapfrog to the first, second or third pick, in an unlikely scenario they could fall as far as 11th.

Who should they choose? The current players seem to prefer no one at all.

"I think we have enough young players," John Wall said.

"We don't have time to develop guys," Martell Webster echoed. "We have great young guys already developing. We don't need to bring more in."

Even coach Randy Witt?man lobbied for moving on from the burden of turning projects into serviceable pros. He has too many from a process that at best has been hit or miss. While Kevin Seraphin moved into the rotation this year as a backup center, Trevor Booker was hampered by injuries again, Chris Singleton regressed and Jan Vesely looked like no less than the biggest bust of the 2011 draft.

"I think we could use another veteran," Wittman said. "Yeah, we're going to have a high draft pick, but also it's an important summer for a lot of our young guys now. It's time for them to step up and show me who we need to move forward with and who we don't."

While the circumstances aren't the same, the last time Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld bailed on a high first-round pick for veteran additions in 2009, he passed on Ricky Rubio and Stephen Curry and acquired Randy Foye and Mike Miller. He has been rebuilding ever since.

"We can get an old player any time," Grunfeld said Tuesday. "But if the older player doesn't help you on the court, that's not the kind of situation we want to get into."

Wall and Bradley Beal both prefer a stretch four -- a big man who can shoot -- and some backcourt scoring off the bench. Wall knows, however, if the Wizards won the top pick, he might no longer be the only Kentucky player on the roster.

"To tear an ACL, that's a tough injury, and to still be projected to still go No. 1, that lets you know how good you are," Wall said of Wildcats freshman Nerlens Noel. "I think if he comes in he'll be a shot-blocker type person and do a great job. He's just got to cut his flattop."

- Craig Stouffer

cstouffer@washingtonexaminer.com

If you're still wondering why Capitals general manager George McPhee signed defenseman John Erskine to a two-year, $3.925 million contract extension earlier this year, games like Tuesday's win over Winnipeg are your answer.

Erskine twice saved goals in the first period by himself. The first was on a Bryan Little shot ripped from the left wing off a nice pass by teammate Andrew Ladd. But a sliding Erskine was there at the near post, a sprawling effort with goalie Braden Holtby unable to get over. Later in the first, a deflection popped off Holtby's shoulder and over him. But millimeters before it crossed the goal line, Erskine swept the puck out of danger.

"Sometimes when you fight and you play physical like that I think people overlook your skill," defenseman Steve Oleksy said. "[Erskine] makes great plays. He's strong on the puck. He's a leader back here on the D-corps for us. He might not wear a letter, but in the locker room everybody knows it, and I think people are starting to see it, too."

- Brian McNally

bmcnally@washingtonexaminer.com

Donovan McNabb is no fan of Redskins' zone read option offense

John Keim

April 23, 12:00 AM April 23, 10:45 PM

Maybe it's a genuine sentiment. Maybe it's clouded by bitterness stemming from his one (failed) season in Washington. Regardless, former Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb is not a fan of the zone read option.

In fact, he makes it seem as if the Redskins run it because coaches want to enhance their reputations.

"A lot of these coaches are looking for athletic guys who have strong arms, can process the defense and be able to get it to the guys and give them an opportunity to make plays," McNabb told Bloomberg Radio on Tuesday. "Now they're incorporating this read option, and all this other mess that coaches are being creative with and want their name tied behind it because they have the ability at quarterback."

Naturally, the topic turned to the obvious: How long can Robert Griffin III run out of this formation?

"The one thing that I don't like with this read-option offense is now we begin to kind of get embedded in it," McNabb said. "Instead of trying to develop this kid to be a quarterback in the NFL, a pocket passer who can do the three-, five-step seven-step drop and be very effective with it, now we're so entitled with this read option, this pistol offense, that we're making it into OUR offense. I think for RGIII, as well as for [Redskins coach Mike] Shanahan, it's important that they begin to evolve that offense to take pressure off of him."

The Redskins do need Griffin to improve as a passer to grow the offense. But his running helps the offense maintain unpredictability. And that likely won't change.

- John Keim

jkeim@washingtonexaminer.com

Brooklyn could be headed for a Net loss in playoffs

Craig Stouffer

April 23, 12:00 AM April 23, 10:45 PM

The home team wasn't going to win every game in the NBA playoffs, anyway. The defiant and defensive-minded Chicago Bulls also might've been the easiest to predict as the first visitors to get a postseason victory after higher seeds went 8-0 in Game 1s over the weekend.

But the Brooklyn Nets' unenviable draw in the postseason got tougher after they dropped Game 2 of their first-round series against the Bulls at Barclays Center on Monday. Even if it was merely a wake-up call, it was a reminder that their playoff challenge is more than just the opponent in front of them.

All season long, the Nets have played in the shadow of the outsized expectations of their ownership. The franchise spent nearly $330 million last offseason for one reason alone: to prove that a championship could be bought in the NBA. The roster, however, always had the credentials of a team that would predictably fall short. Deron Williams, while elite, is no longer a frontrunner in the discussion of the league's best point guards. Brook Lopez hasn't yet matched his offense skill level at center with a dominant defensive presence. Joe Johnson is the symbol of Atlanta Hawks teams that have been middling in the postseason.

The sum is a streaky squad during the regular season that has been exactly that, both good and bad, in the first two games against Chicago. In the Nets' Game 1 victory, they shot 16-for-20 in the second quarter. In their Game 2 loss, they went 2-for-19 in the third period.

It may be that the Bulls simply mustered an extraordinary amount of effort and heart, personified by Joakim Noah, who is essentially playing on borrowed time due to plantar fasciitis. It's also what the Bulls have done all season without Derrick Rose, showing the kind of confidence that their star player hasn't yet regained enough to return to the court.

Aspiring to the Bulls' level of blind belief and desire is the best way for the Nets to ascend past their own limitations. The alternative could be an as-early-as-possible postseason exit that says more about them than their opponents.

- Craig Stouffer

cstouffer@washingtonexaminer.com