ARLINGTON, Va. — Find that fast-forward button and press it down hard. The Washington Capitals already know how to handle the regular season; it’s the playoffs that have become their bugaboo.
So, even though it was a mild September morning Saturday as the Capitals gathered for the first day of training camp, the players couldn’t help but think of the high-intensity games they will surely be playing at the downtown Verizon Center in April.
“Let’s start ’em tomorrow,” defenseman Tom Poti said.
Too bad the Capitals can’t do just that — skip the 82-game grind and get straight to the heart of the matter. They accumulated an NHL-high 121 points last season and could be even better this season as their young talent matures, but their three consecutive Southeast Division titles have translated into just one series victory in the postseason. They’ve once again become the team of spring heartache, just as they were for much of the 1980s and 1990s.
“We know that’s part of the deal here this year,” right wing Mike Knuble said. “I guess the only way to do that is to win in the playoffs.”
Five months ago, the Capitals became the first top-seeded team to blow a 3-1 series lead against a No. 8 seed, losing in the first round to the Montreal Canadiens. The memory of that series lives on in the slogan on the back of this season’s training camp T-shirts: “Stay angry . . . believe in yourselves.”
Staal now leader of ‘Canes
RALEIGH, N.C. — Eric Staal has seen a lot of veteran players come and go since he first joined the Carolina Hurricanes in 2003.
He’s only 25 years old, but he certainly wasn’t one of the younger guys in the dressing room when preseason camp opened.
The team captain will be a big part of the team’s leadership — especially now that veterans Rod Brind’Amour and Ray Whitney have moved on.
Staal says the team has some new players who are excited to be competing for roster spots. There are only four players who are in their 30s.
Coach Paul Maurice says he was impressed by his players’ fitness heading into camp.
Gragnani sidelined.
Sabres defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani will miss four to six weeks with a sprained knee.
Coach Lindy Ruff provided an update a day after Gragnani was hurt in rookie scrimmage. Ruff didn’t say which knee was injured, but noted it won’t require surgery.
Gragnani, the Sabres’ third-round pick in the 2005 draft, was expected to compete for a regular job with the team this season.
Footnotes.
Ilya Kovalchuk has a new position.During the Devils’ first practice of the season, new coach John MacLean moved the 27-year-old all-star from left wing to right wing, playing him with Zach Parise and Travis Zajac.
• The Traverse City (Mich.) Record-Eagle reports that longtime Red Wings forward Kris Draper left Saturday’s scrimmage with a pulled groin.
