Aging Capitals think they can go on another long playoff run

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Look no further than the extra gray hair on Alex Ovechkin's head for evidence he and the Washington Capitals are getting older.

The stress of the past few years has not helped. Since winning the Stanley Cup in 2018, the Capitals have not won a playoff series and are now one of the oldest teams in the NHL.

The talent has still been there to extend Washington's postseason streak to six. Making it seven will take overcoming injuries to two top players for a team that still thinks it has what it takes to contend for a title.

“Yes, we haven’t gotten it done,” veteran center Lars Eller said. “But do I believe that we still have a run in us? Yes. I think we have all the assets. I can say that because I’ve seen us do it before.”

The Caps' championship core remains, and general manager Brian MacLellan wasted little time during the offseason erasing the uncertainty in net by adding 2022 Stanley Cup-winning goaltender Darcy Kuemper.

He also added Dylan Strome in free agency and Connor Brown via trade from Ottawa, two players who will be expected to fill big roles while center Nicklas Backstrom and top right winger Tom Wilson are out. Wilson is expected to miss at least the first two months of the season recovering from a torn ACL in his left knee, and Backstrom hopes to play at some point after undergoing surgery on his left hip.

It will take more than Strome and Brown — young center Connor McMichael has a big opportunity — to make up for not having Wilson and Backstrom for a while.

“You can’t just say that we’re going to put the next guy in and it’s going to go as smoothly,” No. 1 defenseman John Carlson said. "But we can all find different ways to chip in and change things and be better in different areas."