But both analysts seemed especially effusive in the past week, even as the Caps have continued their marginally disturbing trend of falling behind just about every night they play.

Here, for example, was Milbury, breaking down Washington’s chances shortly before Monday’s trade deadline.

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“You know, from time to time over the years we’ve poked holes at Washington’s lineup,” Milbury acknowledged. “But I have to tell you, for me, Washington fans should rest easy. This is a team that’s built to be a favorite in the Eastern Conference and a team that is built to win. They have balance, they have depth at every position and they’ve got great goal-tending. There’s no reason not to feel confidence, although Washington fans seem to find that hard to do.”

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Mike Milbury is now chiding Caps fans for not having enough faith in their first-place team. Look hither, Cespedes’s pig’s butchered hindquarters!

Then on Tuesday, McGuire may have one-upped his colleague during an appearance with Mike Francesa on WFAN.

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“Washington’s for real. They’re for real,” McGuire said. “This is the deepest Washington Capitals team I’ve seen in 27 years in the NHL, between playing, coaching and broadcasting, I have never seen the Washington Capitals have a better team on the ice, and the leadership has been phenomenal. Alexander Ovechkin is a completely different player. He’s much more mature, he respects his teammates more, he’s obviously one of the top scorers in the history of the game.

“And then you see the people that are around him, and one of the people that’s around him that’s really evolved is Evgeny Kuznetsov,” McGuire went on. “Just an unbelievable talent. So you’ve got a one-two punch down the middle with Nicklas Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov, and this Washington team is loaded for bear, they really are.”

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NBC Sports Network broadcast Tuesday’s game against the Penguins, allowing Milbury and Keith Jones to both praise former punching bag Ovechkin before that game started. (Although Milbury took a mild shot at Ovechkin’s defense, saying “Do I think he’s become a Selke Trophy candidate? No, he hasn’t changed at that end at all.”)

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And then after the Caps did what they’ve so often done, roaring back from an early deficit and going ahead in the third period? More praise.

“A lot of depth, and that’s what teams with depth do, they wear you down, and eventually they find a way to win. This was a great message to the rest of the league,” Jones said. “They’re very Western Conference-like. They’re built with size and strength and skill, but there’s no question that the skill players for the Capitals can play a physical game as well.”

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“They more or less stole the game away from the Pittsburgh Penguins,” Milbury said. “It wasn’t that Pittsburgh played badly. … It’s just that they had a pushback from a team that has the ability to drop a deuce of a lead to the opponent and still get the job done. I think you have to be at the very top of your game to beat Washington. I mean, there’s no question about it.”

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By this point, Jones was stifling laughter over the whole “drop a deuce of a lead” thing, while Milbury wondered whether he was in middle school and I ran howling through my living room. But still, the point was made: they are on-board.

Caps players, for what it’s worth, are being a bit less over-the-moon. Ovechkin, for example, was asked on Tuesday if this is the best Caps team he’s seen.

“We’re going to talk about it is it the best team or not after the year,” he said.

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And Matt Niskanen was asked if this year’s team is better than last year’s.

“I believe we are,” he said. “Our record shows that this year. But when it comes springtime we’ve got to prove it. I think we’re excited about our potential, but the playoffs are a different animal.”

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Well, current players, at least. Here’s a former player.