WASHINGTON -- Prior to their practice at Capital One Arena on Thursday, the Washington Capitals lined up on risers at center ice to pose for their team photo.
The photo shoot takes place near the end of each regular season, and it serves as a reminder that the Stanley Cup Playoffs are rapidly approaching.
Capitals not satisfied with regular-season success
Division title wouldn't be enough for Washington, which hasn't gotten past second round of playoffs since 1998
With five games remaining, the Capitals (46-24-7) have clinched a playoff berth for the fourth consecutive season and are in position to win the Metropolitan Division for the third consecutive season; they lead the second-place Pittsburgh Penguins by five points. With 99 points, they are also on the verge of their fourth consecutive 100-point season.
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As proud as the Capitals are of that, particularly in a season when many expected them to take a step back, they are not satisfied.
"I'm pretty sure in this locker room everybody is tired of being a very good team in the [regular] season and in the playoffs we don't get success," captain Alex Ovechkin said. "I hope with this group of guys we have right now we can take a step forward and stay longer in the playoffs and try to win what we want. That's what we all want."
What the Capitals want, of course, is the Stanley Cup. For all Ovechkin has accomplished in his 13 NHL seasons -- he scored his 600th goal on March 12 and is expected play in his 1,000th game in Pittsburgh on Sunday -- he knows that's the glaring omission for him and the Capitals.
They were Presidents' Trophy winners and Cup favorites the past two seasons, but lost to the Penguins, the eventual champions, in the Eastern Conference Second Round each time. The Capitals have been flying under the radar a little this season while powerhouse teams such as the Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins and Nashville Predators have gotten more attention, but they've learned repeatedly that winning the Stanley Cup isn't easy.
The Capitals haven't advanced past the second round of the playoffs since they made their lone Stanley Cup Final appearance in 1998.
"I'm a grown-up about what happens in the playoffs in that everyone starts from 0-0 and anything can happen," said Ted Leonsis, who has owned the Capitals since 1999. "Playoffs come and goaltending really, really matters. My big hope is that we have two healthy goaltenders entering into the playoffs, that having great goaltending and great depth in goaltending is something that really, really matters on the long grind."
The Capitals have yet to settle on their playoff starter, but believe their goaltending is a strength whether Braden Holtby or Philipp Grubauer is No. 1. Whether that will be enough to make the photo they took on Thursday a picture of their first Stanley Cup championship team remains to be seen. Regardless, there will be changes to the group in that photo, as there always are.
Leonsis declined to discuss Thursday the future of coach Barry Trotz. General manager Brian MacLellan received a multiyear extension earlier this month, but Trotz remains unsigned beyond this season.
"I don't talk about contracts," Leonsis said. "I think it's inappropriate, especially right now."
That the Capitals are in this position again might be surprising to some, but not Leonsis.
"No. I thought we'd have a really good team, a 100-point team," Leonsis said. "We took some steps back, at least on paper, but I think we've played eight or nine rookies. We're kind of rebuilding the team [on the fly]. We're rebuilding the plane while flying it. The young players got the needed experience and I think we're set for this year."
Though forwards Justin Williams, Marcus Johansson and Daniel Winnik and defenseman Karl Alzner, Kevin Shattenkirk and Nate Schmidt left last offseason, the Capitals' veteran core, headed by Ovechkin, remained mostly intact. Rookies have helped make up for those losses. Four played regularly for most of the season; forwards Jakub Vrana and Chandler Stephenson, and defensemen Christian Djoos and Madison Bowey. Five others have made cameos: Jakub Jerabek, Travis Boyd, Nathan Walker, Liam O'Brien and Shane Gersich.
"For us, when the season starts, we don't know what to expect," Ovechkin said. "We lost lots of key guys. We obviously lost our group of guys who were leaders in different areas, but the core that we have stayed the same. I think that's why we got success. Everybody right now understands their roles, and that's an important thing.
"We're one team, but I'm pretty sure everybody has different roles and we understand it and I think that's a big difference for us since Day One in training camp. You can see right now we enjoy our time. We play as a team and I think, 'Everybody enjoy it and everybody have fun.'"
That appeared to be the case Thursday. At the end of practice, the Capitals gathered to sing "Happy Birthday" to forward Tom Wilson, who turned 24, and shoved a cake into his face.
The mood was light, one of a winning team. With the start of the playoffs two weeks away, the Capitals appear to be peaking at the right time with five consecutive wins and nine in their past 10 heading into their game against the Carolina Hurricanes at Capital One Arena on Friday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSWA, FS-CR, NHL.TV).
"I think we can get to 100 points. We've obviously qualified for the playoffs and those were my expectations," Leonsis said. "If my expectation was that we weren't going to make the playoffs, then we would have been in a rebuild mode. Instead this was, 'Let's bring in some young players' and I thought Alex articulated it best [before the season] when he said, 'Why don't you believe? We're not going [to stink].'"
