from Pierre LeBrun of ESPN,

We've all been fooled before by the regular-season Caps, who turned into pumpkins when midnight struck in the playoffs, but these guys look different this year.

"This is a different team than before," observed one NHL scout at Thursday’s game. "They’re more physical, they look heavier."

One Caps player quipped to me on the way out of the rink after Thursday's morning skate that people were sleeping on his team.

"We're going to surprise people in the playoffs," said the player,

Thing is, I’m not sure anyone is sleeping on the Caps. People are taking notice.

They are indeed a heavier team. These aren't your older cousin's Caps of yesteryear, when it was all about offense. This appears to be a team that can grind out a 2-1 game in the playoffs, something that was difficult for Washington teams of the past to figure out.

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