ARLINGTON, V.A. — Washington Capitals center Lars Eller says he's been doing the best he can at this point in his career, but admitted that the road hasn't exactly been easy.
Now, going into a must-win Game 5, Eller finds himself on the outside looking in, as he appears set to be a healthy scratch with Connor McMichael returning to his natural center position.
"It is what it is, whether you like it or not," Eller said of his reduced ice time. "I think if you ask every player, they would like to play more. Everyone, even Ovi."
Through nine playoff games so far, Eller has just one assist and three shots on goal. Though his third line has had flashes of strong play, it hasn't been able to generate much, and in turn, his minutes have gone down.
For Eller, who played the role of hero seven years ago in a historic Game 5 of the 2018 Stanley Cup Final, it's a tough spot to be in.
After all, he expects more from himself, but finds it difficult to put up strong numbers while only averaging just 10:45 minutes per game, the lowest ice time among Washington forwards who have dressed for every game this postseason.
"I'd like to produce more, but at the same time, it's not reasonable to expect the same production as in the past because the minutes (are) vastly different," Eller said.
The 36-year-old added that it's been the same story since he was re-acquired back in November; in 63 games with D.C. this season, he had six goals and nine assists while struggling to find much in the way of consistency, and also saw his average ice time reduced to the lowest its been since his rookie year in 2010-11.
"It's kind of been like this from the beginning when I got here. You're given a job and a task, and you try to do the best you can with that," Eller said matter-of-factly. "But it's not reasonable to expect to have production and scoring as I have done prior because the role is vastly different."
And Eller is right on that; his third line doesn't log a lot of ice time, and mainly, his role is to help try to carry the play back up ice. He's also been tasked with killing penalties since returning to the District.
"Do the best (and) what you can with the situation and try to help the team in that way," Eller said. "Sometimes, it's keeping the puck out of the net and for the most part, I think we've done a very good job of that, to give us a chance to get the next line going to get a goal."
Going into Game 5, Eller said he hadn't discussed the lineup yet with coach Spencer Carbery, but signs point to him drawing out. That said, Eller acknowledged the need for a stronger performance from across the board if the Capitals want to force the series back to Raleigh.
"I think everybody, I think the short answer is everybody needs to be a little bit better," Eller said, adding, "You do the best with what you can and take pride in (your role) and try to help the team... you need everybody to chip in, one way or the other."