On Monday, Washington Capitals center Lars Eller spoke to the media on a Zoom call from Hotel X in Toronto. He discussed the mentality and what the team needs to do heading into a very critical Game 4 on Tuesday (8 PM ET on NBCSN and NBC Sports Washington).

Although Eller believes Game 3 was the best the Capitals have played, he knows they have a lot “more to give”. “I mean I could come up with several excuses…some players are playing hurt,” Eller said. “But even so, we have a group that’s strong enough to overcome those challenges…we haven’t seen that quality of play that I know we have.” Eller mentioned they need “more from everybody down the lineup.”

On goaltender Braden Holtby, Eller called him a “winner down to the core.” He praised Holtby for being a “strong competitor” and “overcoming great challenges”. Eller said the Washington netminder made “big saves” in a his “best game [Game 3] of the series” so far. “We need him to continue to be one of our best players.”

In his first game returning to the bubble, Eller felt “pretty good” during Game 2, but did admit to getting cramps in the third period. “I could only play shifts for 10-15-20 second shifts and then my body sort of quit on me at that point.”

He felt better in Game 3 and believes he will be fine for the the next game. “I know we have our backs against the wall, but all we need to do is win one. We can focus on only winning the next one. That’s it. And I have no doubt in my mind that we can do that.”

For Eller, the most important thing is staying in the moment and not thinking ahead such as a Game 5. “It only comes down to, for me, what’s right in front of you…win your next battle. It’s a steep mountain to climb if you look at as any more than that,” Eller said. That’s going to be a key mentality for the team. “I’m looking forward to that challenge.”

“I know we have our backs against the wall, but all we need to do is win one. We can focus on only winning the next one. That’s it. And I have no doubt in my mind that we can do that.”

Full call with Lars Eller and Nic Dowd below.#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/kqkYwd0yLJ

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) August 17, 2020

By Della Young