Three Keys for the Caps

Net Presence

Whenever the offense stagnated last season, the primary culprit was almost always the same: too many low-percentage shots from the perimeter and too little traffic in front of the opposing team's goaltender. The free-agent acquisition of 6-foot-3, 230-pound power forward Mike Knuble should go a long way toward eliminating that problem. The 37-year-old winger has averaged 27.5 goals the past six seasons. But because Knuble will play only 18-20 minutes per game, he can't create havoc in front of the net all the time. He will need backup from the likes of Chris Clark, who is finally healthy after missing most of the past two seasons, and Brooks Laich, who also has a knack for banging in rebounds.

Special Teams

With enforcer Donald Brashear playing for the New York Rangers after three seasons in Washington, the hope is that a ferocious power play will keep opposing teams honest. The Alex Ovechkin-led power play ranked second last season, converting 25.2 percent of its opportunities. The unit must avoid the temptation to over-pass, or in the words of Coach Bruce Boudreau, be "too cute," which was an occasional issue at home. Washington's penalty kill, meantime, was unreliable almost all regular season. It ranked 17th overall, extinguishing 80.6 percent of short-handed situations. One way to boost that percentage is to spend less time in the penalty box. Only five teams took more than the Capitals' 414 minor penalties.

Goaltending

The Capitals defended their Southeast Division title last season despite inconsistent goaltending from Jos? Theodore, who won 32 games but ranked 36th in goals against average (2.87) and 37th in save percentage (.900) in the regular season. After a shaky debut in the playoffs, he was promptly replaced by Semyon Varlamov. Theodore entered training camp as the No. 1 goalie -- and in the final year of his contract -- but is under considerable pressure from Varlamov and Michal Neuvirth. If Theodore gets off to another slow start, Boudreau could find himself in a tough spot. Varlamov and Neuvirth -- both 21 -- have plenty of potential but a combined 24 games of NHL regular season and postseason experience.