ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) Tom Wilson caught himself. He knew what was about to come out of his mouth went against years of hatred between his Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
I dont know why Im saying this, but you respect a team like Pittsburgh, the top-line right winger said. Its so hard to win, let alone to do it twice.
The Capitals are trying to do just that after ousting the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions last spring on their way to the first title in franchise history. Now that the celebrations are over, being the champs and trying to bounce back from success are new challenges for Alex Ovechkin and Co. after year after year of playoff disappointment.
Every team is going to try to beat us, Ovechkin said. But, for us, we just have to play the same way, at the same pace and try to win every game. … We understand what have to do to get success and thats great things.
Gone is coach Barry Trotz, who resigned amid a contract dispute, replaced by longtime assistant Todd Reirden. That is is one of very few changes for the Capitals, who traded backup goaltender Philipp Grubauer, let fourth-line center Jay Beagle leave in free agency but return 18 of the 19 players who took part in the Cup-clinching Game 5 victory in Las Vegas.
General manager Brian MacLellan pulled off a coup in keeping the band together. Top defenseman John Carlson signed a $64 million, eight-year contract to stay with Washington, key additions Devante Smith-Pelly and Michal Kempny re-signed, and the Capitals could raise their Cup banner Oct. 3 against Boston with almost the same forward lines and pairings as they had in the playoffs.
The team is almost the same, but the vibe is totally different after finally beating the Penguins, getting past the second round and ending Washingtons pro sports title drought that dated to 1992.
I think the organization feels a little bit different, MacLellan said. Theres less tension or pressure. It doesnt mean that we dont want to win or repeat or anything like that, it just feels different. Maybe its hard to explain. I think the edge has been taken off us a little bit and were just playing.
As they come down from the high of winning and attempt to avoid the typical Stanley Cup hangover, players figure getting each opponents best effort this season will only help.
We play better when teams play good against us, goaltender Braden Holtby said. We seem to raise our level up to play against good teams … So I think itll be good. I think itll be great to have every game guys pushing you to different levels.
