Months after falling to Penguins, Capitals work to move past playoff letdown

Sometimes, when a team falls short in a playoff run, it feels a bit melodramatic to throw around words like “devastation.” In the case of the Washington Capitals falling to the Pittsburgh Penguins – yet again – during the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs, a little melodrama almost seems appropriate. NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti caught up with a number of Capitals to reflect upon the past and look to the future, and while one must credit Nicklas Backstrom and others for saying the right things, you could also tell that the wounds haven’t fully healed just yet. “It should be about the team and how we lose as a team.

With short-term future secure, Caps' Grubauer eager to get to work

The days leading up to the expansion draft in June were jittery ones for Caps backup goalie Philipp Grubauer, who suspected there was a decent chance he’d get selected by the Golden Knights. “A little stressful,” Grubauer acknowledged Tuesday following an informal practice at Kettler Capitals Iceplex. “We were on the phone every day or like every couple of minutes basically.” Being left somewhat in the dark was an nerve-racking experience, even for someone who makes a living dealing with stressful situations on the ice. “Nobody knew what was going on,” he said, referring to his camp’s attempts to figure out which direction Las Vegas GM George McPhee might chose. “We just kinda watched from Germany.”

• 
  The 25 most important players for the Caps: No. 24 Chandler Stephenson

  CSN Mid-Atlantic
• 
  Capitals Faceoff Podcast: Voice of the Capitals

  CSN Mid-Atlantic

ESPN analyst ranks Flyers' farm system No. 1 in NHL

Throughout the offseason, we'll ask questions about the Flyers to our resident hockey analysts and see what they have to say. Going End to End today are CSNPhilly.com reporters John Boruk, Tom Dougherty, Jordan Hall and Greg Paone. The topic: Expectations for Ivan Provorov in Year 2. Boruk "He's the best player I've ever played with by a mile." That was Nolan Patrick's assessment of Provorov following two seasons of junior hockey with the Brandon Wheat Kings. There's an indescribable maturity you quickly sense in talking with Provorov, and that mentality carries over onto the ice. Nineteen-year-olds simply don't grasp the speed, the decision-making, the mental grind and some of the other elements