RHP Stolmy Pimentel (sore right shoulder) will pitch three i

With the NHL regular season right around the corner, TSN.ca profiles each team leading up to puck drop. Last on the list are the Washington Capitals, looking for a fresh start after an offseason of change. Catch up on their summer moves and the issues they face this season, as well as Craig Buttons analysis of their top prospect and an analytical breakdown by TSNs Scott Cullen. Division: Metropolitan GM: Brian MacLellan Head Coach: Barry Trotz 2013-14: 38-30-14 (5th in Metropolitan) Playoffs: Did not qualify Goals For: 235 (13th) Goals Against: 240 (21st) Powerplay: 23.4% (2nd) Penalty Kill: 82.1% (16th) That Was Then: The Capitalsa€? first year in the Metropolitan Division saw the team clipped down the stretch by one of its new division mates. In their first 82-game season under Adam Oates, the Caps ran hot and cold for much of the year, trading hot streaks with cold streaks in nearly equal measure. A middling October was followed by a torrid November that saw the team drop only four contests and rack up points in all but one of their six road games. Alexander Ovechkin was one of the NHLa€?s elite producers through the first half of the season netting a point-per-game through December and cracking the 30-goal plateau before the calendar even turned to 2014. He once again put up great numbers in January but the Great Eight did not return from the Sochi Olympics at nearly the same output. While he continued on nearly a point-per-game pace and scored 11 goals in his final 23, he put up a nightmarish -18 in the final two months of the season. When the dust settled, Ovie had a Rocket Richard Trophy-winning 51 goals to go alongside a minus-35 rating that was worse than all but two NHL players. The Caps still found themselves in the hunt, though, keeping pace with the Detroit Red Wings and the floundering Toronto Maple Leafs in the Eastern Conference wild card chase. The ex-factor, it turns out, was the Columbus Blue Jackets. While the Capitals ripped off points in 12 of their final 15 games, including finishing the season on a 4-0-1 kick, the Blue Jackets matched them stride-for-stride. Despite the run, the Caps were unable to gain ground on their new rivals, nor were they able to run down the Wings. The result was the Capsa€? first season watching the playoffs from the outside since 2006-07. Scott Cullens Analytics Predators 2013-14 Stats by Quarter Games GPG GAA SH% SV% SAF% PTS% 1-20 3.00 2.85 8.4% .917 47.3% .575 21-41 2.67 2.95 6.8% .932 48.0% .548 42-62 2.81 2.86 8.4% .921 48.9% .524 63-82 2.45 2.50 7.1% .928 44.3% .550 NHL AVG 2.67 2.67 7.8 .922 50.0% .562 Key: GPG= goals per game, GAA= goals-against per game, SH%= even-strength shooting percentage, SV%= even-strength save percentage, SAF%= score-adjusted Fenwick percentage (differential of shot attempts faced vs. shot attempts, excluding blocked shots, adjusted for game score), PTS%= percentage of available points. Analysis: Games 1-20: Shot well enough to overcome subpar possession stats. Games 21-41: Shooting declined, but a good stretch of goaltending kept the Capitals in the playoff hunt. Games 42-62: Good shooting, but a little below average in goaltending and possession. Games 63-82: Jaroslav Halak was excellent to finish the year, but possession bottomed-out. Key Additions: RW Chris Conner, LW Tim Kennedy, D Matt Niskanen, D Brooks Orpik, G Justin Peters Key Subtractions: C Mikhail Grabovski, D Tyson Strachan This Is Now: Change came quick in the off-season, with Oates and long-time general manager George McPhee receiving their walking papers before April was even out. Ted Leonsisa€? decision sent a clear message in the U.S. Capital: Any team built around Alexander Ovechkin is expected to make the playoffs, at the very least. The captain a€“ locked up until 2021 - isna€?t likely to be going to another NHL club in the near future, so changing the existing regime was the easy fix. The front office changes were an interesting blend of experience and familiarity. Barry Trotz was one of the most sought-after coaches available and the Caps snatched him up in late May. After a career in Nashville without much offensive firepower, it will be interesting to see what effect Trotza€? defensive contest has on the likes of Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and defencemen Mike Green and John Carlson. Bringing in Brian MacLellan was an interesting way to change the decision-making at the GM position while keeping familiarity within the organization. MacLellan has spent 14 seasons with the organization, most recently as an assistant GM and director of player personnel. MacLellan was also apparently given free rein on spending and a mantra to upgrade the teama€?s defence. He went out and pilfered the teama€?s arch-rivals from Pittsburgh dropping a combined $67.75 million on five years of Brooks Orpik and seven yearsa€? worth of Matt Niskanen. How will the pieces fall into place? Well, if the Metropolitan is as wide-open as it was for much of last season, the Caps could be primed for a bounce-back. Then again, considering the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers both spent much of the regular season scuffling, maybe all the Caps have done by re-loading is keep pace. DEPTH CHART Forwards Left Wing Centre Right Wing Alex Ovechkin Nicklas Backstrom Eric Fehr Marcus Johansson Evgeny Kuznetsov Troy Brouwer Jason Chimera Brooks Laich Joel Ward Liam OBrien Andre Burakovsky Chris Brown Aaron Volpatti Michael Latta Chris Conner Tim Kennedy Kris Newbury Tom Wilson Defence Left Right Brooks Orpik John Carlson Karl Alzner Matt Niskanen Nate Schmidt Mike Green John Erskine Jack Hillen Dmitry Orlov Steve Oleksy Goaltenders Braden Holtby Justin Peters Philipp Grubauer Craigs List TSN Director of Scouting Craig Buttons Top Prospect: Evgeny Kuznetsov Perhaps Evgeny could have played in the NHL earlier but one thing is clear; with maturity he is now ready to be a significant contributor in the NHL. Gifted skater who has an ease to his stride and finds multiple ways to create and take advantage of opportunities. Hea€?s a a€?high pacea€? player who can execute on the move. Excellent vision and his puck skills allow him to threaten defenders with a shot or a pass. He has a quick strike capability because he is so smart in transition and in recognizing where and when he can exploit opponents. He is a very good two-way player and could be typecast as similar in style to former NHL star, Sergei Fedorov. Bottom line: the wait for Evegny was well worth it Fantasy - Cullens Player to Watch - Eric Fehr Its difficult to get too excited about a 29-year-old that has topped 35 points in a season once in his NHL career, but Eric Fehr has always been productive on a per-minute basis. Furthermore, and perhaps most importantly, Fehr is looking at a plum opportunity to start the year, skating on the wing with Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom on Washingtons top line. Sticking with those guys for a decent amount of time ought to give Fehr a chance at the second 20-goal season of his career. Air Jordan 4 Wholesale . He had even more fun Friday. Coming off a sensational rookie season, Spieth opened the new year by never coming close to bogey and making a 12-foot birdie putt on the last hole for a 7-under 66. Air Jordan 4 Discount . With a win tonight, Buehrle will match Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka for the most wins in the majors with 11. Buehrle is 10-4 with a 2.32 earned run average, but has lost his last three starts, including a 7-3 setback at Yankee Stadium last Wednesday. http://www.airjordan4discount.com/ . The Wizards gave up two seldom-used players — forward Jan Vesely and point guard Eric Maynor. Vesely goes to the Nuggets, while Maynor gets shipped to the 76ers. Philadelphia receives two second-round draft picks, one from the Wizards in 2015 and one from the Nuggets in 2016. Air Jordan 4 Sale Cheap .Before a raucous sellout crowd, the Hawks won for the 29th time in 31 games to extend their Eastern-best record to 36-8.As usual, pretty much everyone chipped in.Four starters were in double figures and backup point guard Dennis Schroder led a spurt at the start of the fourth quarter that helped the Hawks pull away. Cheap Air Jordan 4 Retro . LOUIS -- Known for his game-managing and defensive skills, Yadier Molina made another statement with his bat.SAN DIEGO - The Pirates West Coast road trip has been filled with sunshine and smiles. Neil Walker and Pedro Alvarez hit two-run homers to back Gerrit Coles solid outing and Pittsburgh beat the San Diego Padres 4-1 on Tuesday night. The Piartes have won the first two games of this three-game series after three of four in Los Angeles. The trip in New York, where the Pirates lost two of three to the Mets. "We didnt play our best ball in New York and we had to move on from there," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "We got some traction, got some starts we needed and the bullpen is working very efficiently and the offence continues to show up." Cole (6-3) limited the Padres to one run and four hits while striking out six in 5 2-3 innings as the Pirates went to 6-1 in his last seven starts. Pittsburgh won its third straight game and 10th in its last 14. Jason Grilli pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his ninth save. Jesse Hahn (0-1) lasted 2 2-3 innings in his major league debut for San Diego. He allowed four runs on six hits, including the homers by Alvarez and Walker, striking out five with two walks. "It was just good to be out there," Hahn said. "Its what I worked for and its good to get the first one out of the way." The Padres lost for the third consecutive time and sunk a season-high seven games under .500. Cole breezed through the first five innings with only two Padres reaching scoring position. But with two outs in the sixth inning, consecutive singles by Chase Headley, Seth Smith and Yonder Alonso ended Coles night, with Alonso driving in Headley to pull the Padres to within 4-1. Jared Hughes relieved Cole and got Jedd Gyorko on a grounder to second to end the rally. "I had good stuff tonight and stuck around long enough to win but I wasnt very effective at all with a four-run lead," Cole said. "That was pretty frustrating and I uncharacteristically ran out of stuff at the end." He retired 10 straight at one point and only two Padres get into scoring pposition over the first five innings.dddddddddddd. Alvarez doubled the Pirates lead to 4-0 in the fourth inning, hitting a fastball over the right-field fence for a two-run homer. Alvarezs 11th home run on the year scored Russell Martin, after he opened the inning with a walk. Hahn gave up two more hits, to Jordy Mercer -- his sixth in seven at-bats -- and Josh Harrison, before being lifted for Jason Lane. Walker became the eighth different Pirates player to hit their last eight home runs when he connected in the third inning for his 11th of the season. Walkers two-run, opposite-field blast to left came off Hahns curveball. "It was easier the second time around to see what he wanted to do," Walker said Once Hahn exited, Lane worked 3 1-3 perfect innings in his first major league appearance since Oct. 1, 2007, and first as a pitcher. Lane switched to pitching after 497 games as an outfielder. "Jason did a great job," Padres manager Bud Black said. "Just what we needed." With Hahn and Lane making their major league debuts as pitchers, it was first time since Sept. 4, 1971 that two Padres did that on the same day. NOTES: Padres RHP Andrew Cashner could start as soon as Saturday against the Nationals. Cashner will test his mending elbow in a Wednesday side session before getting the OK for Saturday. . LHP Eric Stults was placed on bereavement leave after the death of his grandmother. He isnt expected to miss a start. . OF Carlos Quentin was out of the lineup but is expected to start on Wednesday; he struck out as a pinch hitter in the eighth. . Pirates OF Starling Marte, hitless in his previous 17 at-bats, didnt start. "Its been hard sledding for him," Manager Clint Hurdle said. Marte struck out as a pinch hitter in the seventh. ... RHP Stolmy Pimentel (sore right shoulder) will pitch three innings for Class A Bradenton on Friday. ... Padres RHP Ian Kennedy (4-6, 3.42) faces Pirates LHP Francisco Liriano (1-5, 4.62) in Wednesdays finale of the three-game series. Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '