2011 - 12 Washington Capitals season The 2011 – 12 Washington Capitals season was the franchise ’ s 38th season in the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . 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 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 " . While teammate Mike Knuble noted that the language barrier affects the way that Semin is perceive and the 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 the departed players Washington traded its 2011 first round draft pick to the Chicago Blackhawks for veteran winger Troy Brouwer . A member of the Blackhawks ' Stanley Cup championship team in 2010 . They signed Joel Ward as a free agent , adding grit and the hopes that he could duplicate his 2011 playoff success . Ward scored 7 goals and 13 points in 12 playoff games with the Nashville Predators , after scoring 10 goals and 29 points in 80 regular season games . 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 a 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 . Washington would place him on long - term injured reserve and Poti ' s $ 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 . However Poti failed his medical exam prior to training camp and was placed on long - term injured reserve . Regular season . October – November . In the season opener against the Carolina Hurricanes Boudreau made a " surprise " decision to start goaltender Michal Neuvirth . Boudreau stated that the reason behind his decision was a reward for Neuvirth hard work in training camp . Prior to the Capitals ' second game Neuvirth sustained a bruised foot and was unable to play . In his Capitals debut Vokoun struggled allowing 5 goals on 28 shots , but Washington won the game 6 – 5 in a shootout . In the post game interview Vokoun blamed himself for the high number of goals and thanked his teammates for getting him the win in a game he should have lost . Vokoun rebounded in his second game making 39 saves in a 3 – 2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins . He continued his strong play and was named the NHL ' s third star of the week ending October 23 and helped the Caps to a franchise record seven game win streak to start a season . After losing two straight games Washington was down 4 – 3 to the Anaheim Ducks in the final minutes of the game . With the goaltender pulled Boudreau decided to play the third line of Ward , Brooks Laich , and Jason Chimera with Nicklas Backstrom as the extra attacker . Boudreau stated that he was " playing a hunch " by leaving star forward Alex Ovechkin on the bench . The move paid off as Backstrom scored to force overtime . He also scored the game winner in overtime assisted by Ovechkin . When asked about being left on the bench in a post game interview Ovechkin stated that Laich ' s line deserved to be on the ice . Though video showed Ovechkin visibly upset about being left on the bench . The following day Ovechkin stated that he was upset about not being on the ice in the final minutes but that he understood Boudreau ' s decision . Following the benching incident the Capitals went 2 – 5 – 0 leading up to their November 21 game against the Phoenix Coyotes . For the game Boudreau made headlines again for sitting one of his star players . This time making Semin a healthy scratch . Semin led the team in penalty minutes ( PIMs ) as well as being tied for second in the NHL with 14 minor penalties . Boudreau previously bench Semin for the second half of a game versus the New Jersey Devils after the winger had taken two minors and was not focused . Washington defeated Phoenix the game 4 – 3 . The Hockey News ' Ken Campbell applauded the benching of Ovechkin stating that in the past Boudreau had shown a willingness to continually put is star plays out on the ice despite how they were playing and accept the consequences . Campbell noted the move was Boudreau " addressing his most glaring problem as a coach " . NBC ' s Mike Halford echoed Campbell ' s statement when discussing the benching of Semin , commenting that it was a " bold move " and the latest in a series of messages sent by Boudreau . Though he further questioned if the new stance would eventually cost him his job . The moves did not produce the desired results as Capitals lost six of eight games , with Ovechkin scoring only one goal during the same stretch . As a result Washington fired Boudreau on November 28 and replaced him with former Capitals captain , Dale Hunter . Hunter was the head coach of the Ontario Hockey League ' s ( OHL ) London Knights when he was hired . During his time with London he set an OHL record for fastest coach to 300 and 400 career wins . The Capitals lost Hunter ' s coaching debut 2 – 1 to the St . Louis Blues . The following day Boudreau spoke to the media about being fired . He stated that general manager George McPhee made the " right decision at the time " and that despite speculation he did not feel that Ovechkin was a problem stating that he " worked as hard and tried as hard as he could " . December – January . The Capitals did not get Hunter his first NHL win until his third game . The 3 – 2 win over the Ottawa Senators broke a four game losing streak . In the rematch four days later Ovechkin appeared to spear Senators forward Chris Neil . Following a Neil hit on Ovechkin the pair skated up the ice when Neil fell to the ice following the spear . Neil was given an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for diving . The spearing penalty , if called , would have resulted in a five minute major penalty and a game misconduct . Later in the game Ovechkin scored the eventual game winning goal . It was his first goal in six games . When asked about the incident after the game Neil described it as a " pitchfork in the gut " while Ovechkin stated he was " not the type of guy who spears players . " The following day a league spokesman stated that Ovechkin would not be suspended or fined for the spear . The December 28th game vs . the New York Rangers marked the return of fourth line forward Jay Beagle . Beagle missed 31 games with a concussion suffered in a fight against the Penguins ' Arron Asham . The fight itself had generated a minor controversy as Asham , an experienced fighter , made celebratory gestures after knocking out Beagle , who was in his first career NHL fight . Several Capitals expressed their displeasure with Asham after the game , while Asham himself called his actions " classless " . Beagle ' s work ethic in his return was called contagious by teammate Matt Hendricks and helped the Capitals to a 4 – 1 victory . In late December Ovechkin went on a seven game point streak that featured the two point games in the final four games of the streak . In conjunction with the point streak he scored eight goals in nine games . Washington went 5 – 1 – 1 during the streak which was snapped in a 5 – 2 loss to the San Jose Sharks on January 7 . In the game prior to the streak being snapped Capitals defenseman Mike Green returned from a groin injury that kept him out for 23 games . Washington defeated the Calgary Flames 3 – 1 in the contest , which moved their record to 9 – 0 – 0 with Green in the line - up . The news coming out of the game was not all good . During the game Capitals leading scorer Backstrom was elbowed in the head by the Flames ' Rene Bourque . Backstrom underwent concussion testing which was inconclusive , he suffered from what was described as " concussion - like symptoms " and was eventually placed on injured reserve . Bourque was suspended five games for delivering the elbow . Compounding the Capitals injury problem was the loss of Green , in just his second game back he re - injured his groin and was placed on long term injured reserve . Towards the end of January the Capitals received a suspension of their own . During a gave versus the Penguins Ovechkin delivered a hit to Pittsburgh defenseman Zbynek Michalek . On the hit Ovechkin launched himself into Michalek ' s shoulder , the force of the hit caused Ovechkin to make contact with Michalek ' s head . The following day it was announced that Ovechkin was suspended for three games for the reckless hit despite not receiving a penalty on the play during the game . Vice president of player safety , Brendan Shanahan , stated the length of the suspension took into account that Ovechkin was a repeat offender , having been suspended twice before and fined twice as well , it also took into consideration that Michalek was not injured on the play . Interestingly , Michalek , who also had a hearing for an illegal hit in the same game – in which he propelled his elbow into the side of Capitals player Matt Hendricks ' head – avoided any fine or punishment from Shanahan . Without Ovechkin , Backstrom , or Green , Washington defeated the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins in the final game before the All - Star break to move into first place in the division . Washington had two players named to the NHL All - Star Game . Despite having a down season by his standards Ovechkin was named to the All - Star Game . However , due to his suspension Ovechkin announced that he did not want to be a distraction at the game and that he was not comfortable going , and declined to attend the All - Star weekend . Dennis Wideman was the Capitals other All - Star , he recorded 34 points leading into the break while averaging over 24 minutes of ice time per game . Playoffs . The Capitals defeated the Boston Bruins in the opening round , four games to three . For the first time in NHL history , each of the seven games was decided by one goal . The Capitals advanced to the second round , the Eastern Conference semi - finals against the New York Rangers . The Capitals lost the series four games to three . One day after the loss , the Capitals head coach , Dale Hunter stepped down on May 14 . Schedule and results . Playoffs . Key : Win Loss Clinch Playoff Series Eliminated from playoffs Player stats . Skaters . " Note : GP = Games played ; G = Goals ; A = Assists ; Pts = Points ; + / − = Plus / Minus ; PIM = Penalty Minutes " Goaltenders . " Note : GP = Games Played ; Min = Time On Ice ( minutes ) ; W = Wins ; L = Losses ; OT = Overtime Losses ; GA = Goals Against ; GAA = Goals Against Average ; SA = Shots Against ; SV = Saves ; Sv % = Save Percentage ; SO = Shutouts " Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Capitals . Stats reflect time with the Capitals only . Traded mid - season Bold / italics denotes franchise record Transactions . The Capitals have been involved in the following transactions during the 2011 – 12 season . Draft picks . Washington ' s selections at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft .