Caps Prep For Crucial Final Week
Team Seeks 3 Wins, Help From Above

By Tarik El-Bashir
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 1, 2008

In his first two NHL seasons, the last week of the regular season didn't have much meaning for Alex Ovechkin, not with the Washington Capitals languishing near the bottom of the league standings.

The next five days, though, are going to mean everything to the league's leading scorer.

"It's probably the most important week in my NHL career," Ovechkin told a larger-than-usual crowd of reporters and cameras at Kettler Capitals Iceplex yesterday morning. "We had that bad feeling the last [two] years because we didn't play for the playoffs."

Tonight, Ovechkin (league-best 62 goals and 109 points) and the Capitals open a three-game homestand against the Carolina Hurricanes with a trip to the postseason -- and the Southeast Division title -- still within their grasp.

Getting there is possible. But their path is not a straight one.

With Carolina, Tampa Bay and Florida visiting Verizon Center, the Capitals likely will need to win all three and have one of the teams ahead of them in the standings -- the Hurricanes, Boston, Philadelphia, the New York Rangers and Ottawa -- stumble to the finish line.

"It gives us an opportunity," Coach Bruce Boudreau said. "But it still isn't completely in our hands. If every team continues to win, even if we win, we're not going to get there. But we firmly believe the big guy will shine on us at some point and something good is going to happen if we continue to play the way we're playing."

Since Boudreau replaced Glen Hanlon behind the bench Nov. 22, the Capitals have gained the fourth-most points in the NHL behind Detroit, San Jose and Pittsburgh. The playoff push has gathered momentum in recent weeks as they have won eight of nine games, a streak that began after back-to-back heartbreaking losses to the Bruins and the Penguins.

But it hasn't been enough. So Ovechkin and his teammates keep an eye on the out-of-town scoreboards during games. They hang around after playing to wait for other games to end, monitoring the pertinent ones on small televisions in the locker room. In the morning, they pore over the conference standings.

"It's not a heart attack," Ovechkin said, grinning. "I like it. What can I say? It's all about great time and all about winning and losing right now. It's fun."

On Sunday night, "I was almost like a fan cheering for Buffalo," said center Brooks Laich, referring to the Bruins-Sabres game. "I jumped out of my couch there when they scored the overtime winner. With teams playing so well, it's tough to make up ground.

"We're still looking at Carolina. We've had them in our sights since Bruce got here. They're holding something that we want."

If the Capitals are going to catch the Hurricanes and capture the Southeast Division, they must win tonight; Carolina would clinch the division with a regulation victory.

Goaltender Cristobal Huet, winner of his past six starts and eight of 10 since coming to the Capitals at the trade deadline, will start against the Hurricanes, who have lost two of their last three and might welcome back forwards Ray Whitney (ankle) and Justin Williams (knee) from injuries.

With so much on the line, tonight would be a good time for Ovechkin to continue his domination of the league, and the Hurricanes in particular (his six goals against Carolina matches his highest total against a single team this season). While this is a big week for the Capitals, it's also important for the league, which would like nothing more than to have its highest scoring and most exciting player competing on its biggest stage.

Ovechkin is having a season for the history books. But it's not just his point total that makes him special; it's the destined-for-the-highlights manner in which he goes about racking them up.

"It would be great for the fans, for the league, for TV, for media, for us, obviously," veteran center Sergei Fedorov said. "He's a marquee player and he's having a great season. It would create sort of a buzz about the game. It's great. Hopefully, we get it done for Ovie as a team."

Defenseman Tom Poti said if people think Ovechkin is a great player in the regular season, just wait until he's on the postseason stage.

"You look at his game, his style, it's built for the NHL playoffs," Poti said. "The way he plays, it's going to be so exciting to watch him when we do get into the playoffs. It's going to be special for us to watch and for the league to watch. It's going to be great for everyone involved."

But first, they've got to get there.

"Oh yeah, I love it," Ovechkin said when a reporter suggested that he looks like he's having the time of his life.

"It's the biggest game in our year. We're very excited and we can't wait to go to the ice."