On Thursday, Washington Capitals center Lars Eller spoke to the media on a Zoom call following the team’s first scrimmage on the fourth day of the 2020-21 training camp. He discussed playing under head coach Peter Laviolette‘s system and why starting off strong will be beneficial in a tough East division.
Since Monday’s start of camp, Eller describes playing under Laviolette’s system as “very direct and straight to the point”. “He’s been really clear about what he wants us to do,” Eller said. He knows there will be some changes, referencing playing “a little bit different” in the neutral zone “mainly the play without the puck”.
“I think he’s a great addition to our team,” Eller said on playing with left-wing Conor Sheary. He called Sheary “speedy” and “hard-working” and mentioned he has a “good scoring touch”.
Eller believes the key for teams in their division will be to “get off to a good start like the first two months”, adding teams will be “lucky” to maintain that spot for the playoffs.
He thinks if a team gets behind or a “couple points out” in twenty games, there is “less time to catch up”. “I think there’s a very good team that’s not going to make the playoffs,” Eller said.
WATCH: Today’s media availability with Lars Eller: https://t.co/TwwPT9xnSW
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) January 8, 2021
By Della Young