subject: The Washington Capitals [print this page] The Washington Capitals have won four straight Southeast Division titles, but that regular-season success has not translated into an extended playoff run.Coach Bruce Boudreau hopes a new "team-first" attitude will produce better postseason results.With Alex Ovechkin questionable after leaving the country this week due to a death in the family, the Capitals look to extend their point streak against the Carolina Hurricanes to 10 in their season opener Saturday night.Washington closed last season on an 18-4-1 run and tied for the third-most points in franchise history with 107, but was swept by Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference semifinals.It was the fourth consecutive postseason that the Caps were bounced by a lower-seeded team."There's not another dollar to spend, there's not another ticket to sell," owner Ted Leonsis said. wholesale nfl jerseys "It's all up to the organization now to be very, very focused and improve upon last year. But there's not much that we have left to do in management.
It's now up to the players and coaches and I think they've all internalized that."Looking to help his team make that long-anticipated run to the Stanley Cup finals, Boudreau is stressing less selfishness and the importance of team play."They're hearing it every day from all the coaches," said Boudreau, who is 17-20 in the playoffs. "And I think it's something we're going to pound into them, and it'll get done right."Washington hopes Ovechkin's "secret" offseason training program will help him rebound from his worst offensive year. He scored a career-low 32 goals and his 85 points were also a career-worst total, though still good for seventh in the league."He wanted to work his way into shape so that he was peaking during the playoffs," Leonsis said. "He's trying something different this year. The results will speak for themselves at the end of the season, but he looks great."It's uncertain, though, if Ovechkin will be on the ice Saturday after traveling to Moscow following the death of his uncle. If Ovechkin doesn't play, Boudreau will likely replace him with Brooks Laich, Mathieu Perreault or Marcus Johansson.Laich signed a six-year, $27 million deal in the offseason after scoring 16 goals in 2010-11 - down from 25 the season before.Wholesale Jersey The Capitals are also looking for bounce-back efforts from Alexander Semin (40 goals in 2009-10 to 28 last season) and Nicklas Backstrom, whose output dropped from a career-best 33 to 18 last season.
