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The Capitals' underachievement helped shove Ron Wilson out the door, and now it's Bruce Cassidy's turn to try to get the most out of Jaromir Jagr. Having the familiar Robert Lang as his center should help, but Jagr also needs to show that he can have as much fire playing in the nation's capital as he did when playing for his own nation at Salt Lake City. Some of that had to do with the invigorating return to the larger ice, but if Jagr wants to reassert himself as the best player in the league, he needs to act as if it matters to him more often.
Is Olie still the goalie?: Olaf Kolzig sometimes must have felt like a goalie on an island last season, but he didn't respond well enough to the challenge, either. At 32, he should have a gloveful of quality seasons remaining, and the Capitals need him to return to his more stingy ways.
Calle's cuff: It didn't help Kolzig when Calle Johansson played only 11 games, going out for good in early November with a rotator cuff injury that required surgery. He isn't going to be trying to throw a slider on the outside corner, but the injury still can be tricky -- especially for a 35-year-old. If Johansson immediately can return to his old steady effectiveness, that will be a crucial step in the Caps' quest to get back to the playoffs.
Can Simon say, "Goal?": Chris Simon is back under a one-year, $2.25-million deal. He held up through last season, answering some doubts about whether his shoulder problems meant he was excessively damaged goods. As he did last season, and had earlier with both the Capitals and Avalanche, he is a solid 15-goal-type scorer when he's healthy. But if he somehow can flash back to something remotely resembling that scoring touch he had in 1999-2000, when he had 29 goals, that would help considerably. (Of course, 29 goals in 2000 is equal to about 20 in the scoring-starved league of 2002.)
Preseason schedule
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DATE
|
OPPONENT
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TIME (ET)
|
|
Thu., Sept. 19
|
Philadelphia
|
7 p.m.
|
|
Fri., Sept. 20
|
vs. Boston at Manchester, N.H.
(Verizon Wireless Arena)
|
7:30 p.m.
|
|
Sat., Sept. 21
|
Pittsburgh
|
7 p.m.
|
|
Thu., Sept. 26
|
at Dallas
|
8:30 p.m.
|
|
Sat., Sept. 28
|
at Carolina
|
7 p.m.
|
|
Wed., Oct. 2
|
vs. Pittsburgh at Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
(First Union Arena)
|
7 p.m.
|
|
Fri., Oct. 4
|
Carolina
|
7 p.m.
|
|
Sat., Oct. 5
|
at Philadelphia
|
3 p.m.
|
| |
|
