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Ovechkin, Capitals open season against Thrashers

Oct 10, 2008 - 10:21 AM Washington (0-0-0) at Atlanta (0-0-0), 7:30 pm EDT

ATLANTA (Ticker) -- The hockey world is ready to find out what Alex Ovechkin can do for an encore.

The reigning Hart, Maurice Richard and Art Ross Trophy winner begins his quest to duplicate a 65-goal, 112-point effort of last season as the Washington Capitals open the 2008-09 campaign on the road against the Atlanta Thrashers on Friday.

Ovechkin, the top pick in the 2004 draft, has become a superstar by netting 163 goals over his first three seasons in the league and making the Capitals relevant again. Last season, the Russian led them to the postseason for the first time since 2002-03 before they were eliminated in seven games by the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.

Ovechkin eclipsed Luc Robitaille's record for most goals in a season by a left wing (63), accounting for 27.3 percent of his team's tallies.

Although the 23-year-old rapidly has become the backbone of the Capitals, coach Bruce Boudreau has plenty of other things about which to be excited as they gun for a second straight Southeast Division title - the first time they would repeat since 1999-00 and 2000-01.

Last season, Washington became the first team in league history to be mired in last place in December and go on to make the playoffs. A major reason for the late surge was Boudreau's hiring after the team was 6-14-1.

With him behind the bench, Washington went 37-17-7, including an 11-1-0 mark over the final 12 games.

Second-year center Nicklas Backstrom established himself as Washington's top center when veteran Michael Nylander went down midway through the campaign with a torn rotator cuff. The 20-year-old recorded 14 goals and 55 assists, finishing second behind Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane for the Calder Trophy.

The Capitals changed goaltenders during the offseason, signing free agent Jose Theodore, who won the Hart and Vezina Trophies in 2001-02 as a member of the Montreal Canadiens. Theodore, who replaces the departed Cristobal Huet, went 28-21-0 with a 2.44 goals-against average with the Colorado Avalanche last season.

While Washington made a 15-win improvement in 2007-08, Atlanta had a forgettable campaign. The Thrashers finished in fourth place - ahead of the lowly Tampa Bay Lightning by just five points - in the Southeast and had few bright spots aside from All-Star Ilya Kovalchuk.

Kovalchuk scored 52 goals, but Atlanta - which welcomes first-year coach John Anderson - returns no players who netted more than 17 last season. Its defense is suspect as well, as it yielded a league-high 33.93 shots and 3.24 goals per game in 2007-08.

The Thrashers are 2-5-1 in regular-season openers, while the Capitals are 16-15-2.