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The 2011–12 Washington Capitals season was the franchise's 38th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). Washington finished the year as the seventh place team in the Eastern Conference. In the opening round of the playoffs, they matched up with the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins. Due to injuries, the Capitals were forced to play rookie goaltender Braden Holtby. Washington's defeat of the Bruins marked the first time in NHL history in which all seven games of a series were decided by one goal. Facing the East's top seed in the Conference Semifinals, Washington was defeated in seven games by the New York Rangers. Holtby was lauded for his playoff performance, where he recorded a .935 save percentage and was credited with putting Washington in a position to win each game. Washington won their first seven games, setting a franchise record for consecutive victories to start a season. Shortly after, however, an early season slump prompted the benching of offensive star players Alexander Ovechkin and Alexander Semin in separate games. The moves failed to produce results, and Head Coach Bruce Boudreau was eventually replaced by Dale Hunter. Boudreau's firing came seven days after he won his 200th game as an NHL head coach, achieving the feat faster anyone in NHL history. Under Hunter, the Capitals battled the Florida Panthers for the Southeast Division title, ultimately losing out on their fifth-straight division title on the final day of the season. Two days after Washington's playoff elimination, Hunter stepped down as head coach; Adam Oates was hired as his replacement. Individually, Alexander Ovechkin and Dennis Wideman were named to the All-Star Game. Due to a suspension for a reckless hit, however, Ovechkin elected not to attend the game to avoid being a distraction. Four Capitals were named one of the NHL's weekly three stars – a total of five times throughout the season. Three players made their NHL debut, while Mike Knuble played in his 1,000th game. ==Off-season== During the off-season, the Capitals made several player changes. One of the players that was not retained by the team, Matt Bradley, started a controversy with his comments from a radio interview in Ottawa. In the interview, Bradley said his former team was "a little bit too nonchalant and guys weren’t disciplined the way they should have been," which he claimed were the two biggest reasons why the team was not able to advance past the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. He later stated that Head Coach Bruce Boudreau did not give the most ice time to players who were playing well, but went with his star players. He further noted that Boudreau was a "great coach" who had been put in a tough position. When asked to point out examples, Bradley stated that Alexander Semin "could easily be the best player in the league," but he "just doesn’t care," further noting, "When you've got a guy like that, you need him to be your best player, or one of your best players, and when he doesn't show up, you almost get the sense that he wants to be back in Russia." Semin's agent came to his client's defense, stating he "always cares." Teammate Mike Knuble noted that because Semin speaks limited English, the language barrier affects the way that he is perceived, further noting that the interview comments were something Bradley regretted. When asked about the comments, former Capitals forward David Steckel stated that, "It's not like he went out and told lies." Bradley later apologized for his comments in an interview with the ''Sun Sentinel''. Including Bradley, the Capitals lost six players who played for them in the playoffs, as well as back-up goaltender Semyon Varlamov. To replace some of the departed players, Washington traded its 2011 first round draft pick to the Chicago Blackhawks for veteran winger Troy Brouwer, who was a member of the Blackhawks' Stanley Cup championship team in 2010. They then signed Joel Ward as a free agent, adding grit and the hopes that he could duplicate his 2011 playoff success. Ward scored seven goals and 13 points in 12 playoff games with the Nashville Predators, after scoring 10 goals and 29 points in 80 regular season games.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Joel Ward player profile )〕 In net, they added veteran Tomas Vokoun, who was considered to be one of the top goaltenders in the 2011 free agent class. He signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract, well below his believed market value, to have a chance at winning the Stanley Cup. After making these and other off-season moves, the Capitals were over the NHL salary cap. The expectation was that defenseman Tom Poti would not be able to play due to injury and Washington would be forced to place him on long-term injured reserve, where his $2.9 million salary would not count against the cap total. Unexpectedly, Poti told the Capitals that he would be ready to play by training camp. Poti, however, failed his medical exam prior to training camp and was placed on long-term injured reserve. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「2011–12 Washington Capitals season」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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