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Welcome to a new season for the Washington Capitals

By Dave Johnson

The Washington Capitals roster is filled with names that also are on the Stanley Cup, but after consecutive first-round playoff exits, the challenge for players is to prove they are still championship contenders.

As a new season begins, recent postseason pain cannot erase the not-so-long-ago memory of the Capitals winning the 2018 Stanley Cup. The team believes there is still a window of opportunity to win another title with a group led by Alex Ovechkin, Nicolas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie.

That belief is a big reason why the Capitals hired Peter Laviolette, who has taken three different teams to the Stanley Cup Finals, as their head coach.

“This is a ‘win now’ team, there is no question,” said Capitals radio play-by-play voice John Walton.

“You bring in Peter Laviolette, he’s a proven winner, and you bring him in because this team needs to win now … they are young in goal, but this is a team expected to compete for a Stanley Cup and I think that’s the hope and aspiration for everyone in that dressing room.”

The big unknown for the Capitals is in goal. Braden Holtby was lost in free agency to Vancouver and veteran Henrik Lundqvist, who won 459 games in 15 seasons with the Rangers, was signed to stabilize the position and mentor the Capitals’ young goaltenders.

Unfortunately, because of a heart condition, Lundqvist is unable to play this season. He recently underwent open heart surgery.

Ilya Samsonov will be the Capitals’ number one goaltender with Vitek Vanecek serving as his backup. Samsonov appeared in 26 games last season in relief of Holtby and was 16-6 with a 2.55 goals against average. The 26 games are the sum total of Samsonov’s NHL experience. Vanecek, a second-round draft pick by the Capitals in 2014, has yet to play in an NHL game.

“For Ilya to use a football analogy, he has been elevated to starting quarterback and it is his turn now,” said Walton.

“Physically, Samsonov is gifted with the height and agility, but there is a big mental shift now that he knows he is the guy. When the backup is someone that doesn’t have any games of NHL experience that only drives home the point you are the guy.”

If Samsonov and Vanecek can provide steady goaltending, it is reasonable to assume that the Capitals have what it takes to compete for a Stanley Cup. The Capitals have skill and experience at every other position, and in the offseason strengthened their defense with the addition by free agency of Zdeno Chara from Boston.

“Chara is a Hall of Fame defenseman when he retires,” said Walton. “At 43 years of age, he still feels he has a lot to give, and for a guy that battled Alex Ovechkin for years whenever the Bruins and the Capitals met, it will be really fun to see them together.”

Which bring us to Alex Ovechkin.

The 2021 campaign will be his 16th season with the Capitals and with 706 career goals he is showing no signs of slowing down. Wayne Gretzky is on record as saying he believes Ovechkin will break his NHL all-time goals record of 894.

It won’t happen this season, but Gretzky’s endorsement is a testament to Ovechkin’s durability and determination.

“It’s interesting because going back to March in 10 months’ time, he’s only played in eight hockey games,” said Walton. “So the one thing that you think about going into this season is that he’s fresh, and that should terrify the rest of the NHL — for him to be able to come out flying we’ve seen it before, when he is in a groove early on, good things happen.”

Raffl participates in his first Capitals practice, but his debut remains uncertain

By J.J. Regan
Raffl participates in his first Caps practice, but debut remains uncertain originally appeared on NBC Sports WashingtonForward Michael Raffl skated with the Capitals for the first time on Tuesday, participating in practice in a light-blue non-contact jersey.Raffl was acquired at the trade deadline from the Philadelphia Flyers, but an upper-body injury he suffered while still with the Flyers has kept him from playing or practicing with his new team."I thought he looked good out there today," head coach Peter Laviolette said. "Still the light blue jersey so we're moving cautiously, but I thought he looked good, I thought he moved well."Raffl's participation on Tuesday is a step in the right direction, but it is still too soon to tell when he could make his Capitals debut."I've got to talk to the doctors first, to be honest," Raffl said. "It was very nice to get out there and practice with the boys and there's another practice day tomorrow, see how things progress and take the best approach possible so I can stay healthy for hopefully a long playoff run."Raffl has spent his entire eight-year NHL career with the Flyers, but said he was not surprised by the team's decision to trade him at the deadline."I've been in this league long enough to know when things might happen," Raffl said. "I didn't really have an idea of what's going down, but that's part of the business. You've got to be ready for everything."Though he is a depth player, Raffl had an impressive postseason in 2020 with four goals and one assist in just nine games.Offensive production, however, is a bonus. The Caps did not acquire him to boost the team's offensive production, but rather for the other multitude of assets he can bring to the team."Responsible in our end, power forward, get some grit going, puck possession and be tough to play against," Raffl said.He added, "You need different skillsets on a winning team, I think. Everybody has to do their part and some jobs are not as much fun as others, but they need to be done."Raffl also provides some depth at center, though he said Tuesday that he would prefer to play wing. Still, it is a position he is comfortable with if necessary.Center depth was revealed to be an area of need for Washington in the 2020 postseason when Nicklas Backstrom was injured in Game 1 against the New York Islanders and the team struggled to replace him in the lineup.Regardless of where he lines up, however, Raffl is focused on having a positive impact for his new team on what he hopes will be a long playoff run."I'm very excited to be here," he said. "I'm going to give it my everything and chip in one way or the other."
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