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wednesday april 6, 2011

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See Today’s Examiner Inside

H Capitals Gain ExCitEmEnt As Playoffs Near

InsIde:

H CEntEr Boyd Gordon Discusses His Faceoff Success

H FlashBaCk: Caps Make Thrilling Return To Playoffs

H homE-and-homE With panthErs Wraps Regular Season

THe MOsT WOndeRFUL TIMe OF THe YeAR

Beginning the first year after the NHL lockout, the Washing-ton Capitals had a modest goal of building to the point that they can succeed in the regular season and make the playoffs.

After rounding into a Stanley Cup contender but failing to advance past the second round in any of the past three years, the goals have changed.

This year was made about the playoffs, about finding a way to overcome past shortcomings to bust through for the team’s first deep postseason run since its 1998 Stanley Cup finals sprint.

And now, what amounted to a six-month preseason is almost over — down to just one more week and two more games.

“Now you feel like it’s getting closer. This is what you play for,” center Nicklas Backstrom said. “The games are so impor-tant and you have to be on top of your game all the time. It’s going to be a totally different game-style too — more physical and things like that. It’s going to be fun.”

In the year before the lockout (2003-04) and the two years after (2005-06 and 2006-07), the Caps finished fifth in the Southeast Division.

After a poor start to 2007-08, Washington surged to the finish after coach Bruce Boudreau’s hiring and returned to the playoffs, clinching the division title on the final day of the regu-lar season to set up a matchup with the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Caps came back from a 3-1 deficit in the series to

force a Game 7, but exited in the first round. The next year, Washington took out the New York Rangers in a seven-game first-round series before losing in seven contests to the Pittsburgh Penguins, who went on to win the Stanley Cup.

Last year, the Caps earned the President’s Trophy for post-ing the NHL’s top regular-season record. But they became the ninth No. 1 seed eliminated by a No. 8 seed, blowing a 3-1 series lead to the Montreal Canadiens for a second first-round exit in three years.

While several of Washington’s key players are young and some lack NHL playoff experience, coach Bruce Boudreau said he believes AHL and foreign postseason experience, as well tournament play, compares favorably to what’s ahead.

“Media-wise, [the Stanley Cup playoffs is] a different beast,” Boudreau said. “But pressure-wise, if you’re playing for the gold medal at the world championships, it’s right up there. If you’re playing for the Calder Cup, you’ve played eight months on that team and everything’s on the line, there’s a lot of pressure.”

The players also believe the team is in a better position for playoff success this time around after adopting a stingier style.

“We changed the way we play,” center Boyd Gordon said. “We had the best record in the league last year, but it didn’t work out for us for whatever reason. This year we changed a few things up and hopefully that can lead us to success.”

caps week

H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H

With Verizon Center packed and buzzing in anticipation, the Washington Capitals played their first playoff game since 2003 on this night, opening a first-round series against the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Caps took Game 1 in exciting fashion, winning 5-4 on Alex Ovech-kin’s first career playoff goal with 4 minutes, 32 seconds remaining.

It was a back-and-forth affair in which Washington scored two of the contest’s first three goals before the Fly-ers answered with three in the second period to take a 4-2 lead.

However, two of the Caps’ young stars willed them to the win in the third. Defenseman Mike Green scored two goals less than five minutes apart to tie the game. Ovechkin, who was held

to just three shots in the contest, then stole the puck from defenseman Lasse Kukkonen and beat Martin Biron for the tie-breaking goal.

“A pretty veteran move,” Caps center Sergei Fedorov told reporters of Ovech-kin after the game. “It’s not easy: so much talk about everything and such a great season. … Playoffs is a little different. I’m actually surprised — re-ally amazed — that he kept himself so together, so cool in the final moments of the game.”

The Capitals went onto lose three straight games to fall behind 3-1 in the series. But they stormed back to force a Game 7. However, the Flyers won 3-2 in overtime at Verizon Center to eliminate Washington in the first round.

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By Josh Land

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By Josh Land

Flashback: April 11, 2008

in TweeTs, QuoTes and numbers

H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H

semin put that one in a teacup. –@VogsCaps after alexander semin’s highlight-reel goal against Carolina on march 29.

Alex Ovechkin (8) celebrates his game-winning goal with teammates on April 11, 2008, in Game 1 against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Wednesday, April 6vs. Florida Panthers

7 p.m., Verizon CenterCsn+ (hD), Caps raDio 1500, 820 am

Saturday, April 9at Florida Panthers7 p.m., BankatlantiC Center

Csn (hD), Caps raDio 1500, 820 am

Feels good to have a shutout what a job by holts and the rest of the team. Can’t wait to get back to dc

–@karlalzner after the Caps’ 2-0 win at montreal on march 26.

“It went to the net soft, it kind of went off their defenseman and it kind of ended up right on my tape, so it’s hard to miss those ones, but those are nice. Especially nice against your old team. It was a good night.” –Forward Jason Chimera on scoring the overtime winner

march 31 against Columbus, his former team.

2008-09 the last season the Caps won a playoff series.

2-1-1 the Capitals’ record against Florida in 2010-11 entering the teams’ season-ending home-and-home series.

‘THIS IS WHAT YOU PLAY FOR’

Center Nicklas Backstrom unleashes a shot on March 22 against the Philadelphia Flyers.

After six months of prep, CAps set for postseAson

UPCOMING GAMES

Let’s get practice over. it’s red sox opening

day at 4! #162-0 –@JohnCarlson74 on april 1.

Looks like our team should stick to hockey. our nCaa brackets are done, not one player has a team in the Final Four! #Failure

–@ericFehr16 on march 28.

“You’re going to make mistakes and it’s just a matter of correcting them and playing better down the stretch.” –Center Jason arnott on

march 30, a day after the Caps lost 3-2 to Carolina in a shootout.

22 the number of stanley Cup playoff appearances in washington franchise history, including this year.

CAps mAke exCiting return to plAyoffs

vs.

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Q: You’ve always been known to be a pretty good faceoff guy. How did that come about?BG: It’s something I always tried to focus on. You want to have something that you bring to the table. When I got drafted, you think you’re going to be an offensive guy or whatever, but you’ve got to be able to play two ways. For me, I wanted to have that ability to play defensively if being a top-six, top-nine guy didn’t work out. It hasn’t worked out for me, so I’ve got the work ethic on faceoffs and defensive play to stay in the lineup.

Q: What did it take to learn that faceoff skill?BG: II was always kind of smaller, so I tried to get to down low and if I got some bigger guy, you get down low and be quick and strong

on the bottom end. It’s just something that over time, the more you play, the more familiar you get with guys, it’s a process. My first year, [like] everyone, pretty much struggled on faceoffs. But every year, you get better and then you reach that kind of pinnacle. You only continue to improve and get better.

Q: Since center David Steckel was traded, it seems like you’ve been the guy in that department. Is it nice to be relied upon for that?BG: Yeah. I want to be that guy that takes the draws on the penalty kill. That’s my thing and that’s what I try to bring to the table every night to try to help the team win.Q: Has comfort increased since your role became more secure at the trade deadline?

BG: You never really get to comfortable in the

NHL. It’s the best league in the world. There’s al-ways someone else coming up. So just because we traded Stecks, there’s not someone else com-ing from the draft or the minors or on the team already. So you don’t really get comfortable if you’re a fringe guy like me.Q: After missing so much time in the past with back injuries, how has your back been holding up this year, considering you’ve been pretty much healthy save for a staph infection earlier this season?BG: It’s something I have to worry about every day, but the knowledge I have now is so much bigger than last year where you know what the problem is and you know what triggers it, and all those things. The more experience you have with it, the better you get with handling it.

Center Boyd Gordon, a Capitals first-round pick in 2002, has been a full-time member of the club since 2006-07. Although he scored just 27 goals in his first 359 career NHL games, he contributes in other ways, leading the team with a 57.9 faceoff-winning percentage through his first 56 games this year.

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