ARLINGTON, Va. -- In some ways, it seems like a long time ago that Mike Green was a Norris Trophy finalist. He was, in fact, for two years in a row, racking up 149 points between 2008-09 and 2009-10. Indeed, it seems unfathomable that Green, like many of those young Washington Capitals who burst on the scene after the 2004-05 lockout, is approaching a decade of service. Like many of his teammates, the man with the unmistakable tattoos on his arms has matured and found himself being asked to do different things under new head coach Barry Trotz. Green's ice time has dropped from an average of 25:46 in 2008-09 to 19:06 this season, where he is regularly playing on the team's third pairing. That said, Green, who can become an unrestricted free agent in July, still represents one of the most dynamic of defenders from an offensive standpoint, finishing with 45 points, 17 of those coming on the power play. We had a chance to catch up with the Calgary native on the eve of the playoffs.
BURNSIDE: What's one of your favorite playoff memories from when you were growing up?
GREEN: Oh, geez, I remember watching lots. Obviously, growing up in Calgary, Calgary was a team that I watched and cheered for. I vaguely remember but I remember my parents how excited they were, I was probably 4 years old, '89 they went and won [a Stanley Cup], so that's probably my fondest memory of playoff hockey in a championship
BURNSIDE: Do you remember how old you were when you were allowed to stay up 'til the end of the playoff games? That's a turning point.
GREEN: Probably 8 or 9 years old, they let me stay up and watch just because hockey's so big back home.
BURNSIDE: Did you dream of being a Flame growing up or did you just dream of being a hockey player?
GREEN: I just wanted to play hockey. I never even necessarily wanted to play for one team. I had a few favorite teams once I got older. More so favorite hockey players than necessarily teams. One of them being Scott Niedermayer. I idolized him as a player and wanted to emulate sort of what he's about.
BURNSIDE: Did you ever meet Scott?
GREEN: Oh, yeah. When I was 14 years old, I actually had the opportunity, went out to his cabin [in British Columbia]. So, I went out to his cabin and hung out with him for a weekend with a friend of mine that was actually recruiting, he was an agent at the time. So I got to hang out and talk to him, hear his stories, gave me some advice. Yeah, then I think 10 years later I was at an Olympic camp with him, so it's kind of cool.
BURNSIDE: Do you prepare for a playoff series or a playoff game differently? Is it a different beast?
GREEN: I think so. Over the years of playing in playoffs and going through the ups and downs of it, you sort of learn the balance of how you need to prepare. I think for myself it's just keeping an even keel, staying focused, keeping my routine and then putting it all out on the ice.
BURNSIDE: From the outside it looks like there's a different feel around this team going into the playoffs this year, after missing the playoffs last year. Does it feel different in here than it did two years ago and even the years before?
GREEN: Absolutely. I'll say this is probably the greatest group of guys, tight-knit group that we've had. It has to do with the off-ice unity and then how it carries on the ice, really. We go to bat for each and every one of our teammates.
BURNSIDE: You never know, do you? When you have a lot of change, you've got a different coaching staff, you never know how it's going to work out.
GREEN: Well, no, we've been through that, right? We've had different coaches and different guys brought in but we're just really excited as a group to move forward here.
BURNSIDE: Your role has changed a little bit here in terms of what the coaching staff wants you to do. Has that been easy to embrace for you? Are you happy with where you're at right now?
GREEN: Well, it's definitely different, but I take pride in my role now and every piece of the puzzle is just as important as the other. It's obviously a different role but it is what it is and I'm going to make the best of it.
BURNSIDE: You want to stay in Washington. Do you think you will ever think about it during this playoff, however long it lasts, will you think about your future?
GREEN: I think when it's done there's a time for that. Right now, my mind is nowhere near any of that sort of buzz. Yeah, I'm not thinking about it at all. It's hard to even answer the question, really.
BURNSIDE: I've always wanted to ask about your tattoos, when did you get them, how did it come about?
GREEN: I was probably 24, 25 years old, maybe a little bit younger, and I have a best buddy that is a tattoo artist and when you've got a best buddy that does free tattoos, he's always wanted to do work on you, and I enjoy tattoos and art and the aesthetic of it.
BURNSIDE: You've shared a lot of time with a lot of the guys in this room, is there a feeling of "Hey, this is our time" kind of thing?
GREEN: Yeah. It's been a journey over the past 10 years. Eight years for Nick [Backstrom]. It's been a journey together and we've had a lot of great experiences and we've fallen short of our goals, so the greatest thing about this is we have another opportunity this year and the maturity and the experience hopefully these pieces of knowledge will help us and guide us through to the final goal.