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Lars Eller admits harsh truth about being healthy scratched in Game 5
The Washington Capitals season is officially over as they lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in just 5 games. While their end of season was undoubtedly disappointing, forward Lars Eller's performance in the postseason was equally as frustrating.
Coming into Game 5, Lars Eller was part of a significant lineup change head coach Spencer Carbery made in order to better matchup with Carolina's high-powered offence.
In a last minute decision, Carbery decided to move Lars Eller to the press box as he was failing to contribute to the overall success in the team.
In the Washington Capitals season wrap up interviews, Lars Eller admitted a harsh truth about being left out of the starting lineup for Game 5.
Lars Eller admits harsh truth on being healthy scratched
Despite being scratched, Eller highlighted the fun he had this year with the Washington Capitals, admitting how special it was to be part of such a historic season.
«It was great. I felt very fortunate to be part of this team or organization one more time,» Eller said at Breakdown Day, Saturday. «A lot of guys I've been around with the first time, but also some new ones, and some players that were starting to come in, and then you come back and see how they established themselves and are taking great strides. That was cool to see. Obviously, we did a lot of winning during the regular season, and so it was a lot of positive things and Ovi's milestone. There was a lot of fun this year.»
Although he was scratched, Eller admitted that he did the best he could. Obviously, it wasn't enough in the end.
«I think I have that identity as a [more trusted] player for a long, long time. And you play in certain situations, maybe some years, you play a little less or more than certain [years], but it's always certainly been more than it was for this year,» Eller said. «I didn't get the best out of myself, or we didn't get the best out of me at times, because you expect yourself to just keep going at the same rate that you have in the past.
«But it's also if you don't have that role and those minutes and those responsibilities in special teams and whatnot, then you can't expect your production to match what happened in the past, right? So even though you still want that as a player, you make the best of the situation you're given, and you take pride in that, and you help the team do that. And I always did that to the best of my ability.»
Lars Eller is now heading into the offseason as a free agent, and GM Chris Patrick has a difficult decision to make regarding his future on the team.
Did Eller do enough in the end? Time will tell.
| POLL | ||
MAI 19 | 55 ANSWERS Lars Eller admits harsh truth about being healthy scratched in Game 5 Do you think the Washington Capitals should re-sign forward Lars Eller to contract extension? | ||
| Yes | 8 | 14.5 % |
| No | 47 | 85.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
