Filed under: Capitals
ARLINGTON, Va. -- The sting of the Washington Capitals' historic collapse hadn't subsided much over the summer.
"From the faces when the guys got back, it was still pretty evident," Capitals forward Brooks Laich said at the team's training facility. "Guys were very upset about what happened. Not much needed to be said."
And Capitals management has made only slight changes to a team that won the President's Trophy only to become the first top seed to lose a series despite a 3-1 series lead. The Caps, in fact, have actually gotten greener in the two departments that led to their first-round loss to the Montreal Canadiens: goaltending and defense.
"What it says about the organization is that they're good players," Washington coach Bruce Boudreau said. "We didn't have the outcome we wanted in the playoffs, but you're not saying you don't have a lot of great players on this team because we do."
The core group of young forwards is arguably the best in the NHL, led by Alex Ovechkin, who just missed out on his third consecutive Hart Trophy. GM George McPhee locked up Nicklas Backstrom, who is coming off a 101-point season, with a 10-year, $67-million extension. Alexander Semin scored 40 goals last season and added 44 assists. All three are 26 or younger.
More: 2010 NHL Team Previews
But only Backstrom played consistently during the Caps' short postseason run. Ovechkin had 10 points, but only managed one assist over the last two games. Semin finished with two assists during the seven-game series, hardly looking like the sniper he did during the 82-game regular season.
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