Capitals

With five games left in the regular season, the Capitals have pretty much locked up the Southeast Division title and are likely to secure the second seed in the Eastern Conference. But Washington coach Bruce Boudreau doesn't want his team to let up. " All of these games are important to us ," he told The Washington Post . And it's not because the Capitals trail the Flyers by three points in the conference standings. The Capitals mailed it in down the stretch last season, and were unable to get back on track in the playoffs.

Opponent: New Jersey DevilsSite: Meadowlands Arena, East Rutherford, N.J.Time: 1 p.m.TV/Radio:Ch. 20/WMAL (630 AM)Outlook: Washington's road winless streak reached nine games (0-6-3) when the Capitals tied Ottawa, 5-5, Thursday night. Dimitri Khristich squared it with his second goal of the game with 24 seconds remaining in regulation. The Capitals (3-9-3) remained two points ahead of Ottawa (2-9-3), which is last overall in the NHL. New Jersey (6-7-3) is 4-2-2 at home. The Devils have defeated the Capitals twice in the past 11 days.

VS. CALGARY FLAMES* WHEN: Tonight, 9:35.* WHERE: Olympic Saddledome.* RADIO: WCAO-AM 600.VS. VANCOUVER* WHEN: Tomorrow, 8:05.* WHERE: Pacific Coliseum.* RADIO: WMAL-AM 630.* OUTLOOK: The Capitals (27-28-3) have Reggie Savage, Rod Langway, John Kordic and Peter Bondra out of the lineup and Tim Bergland, Alfie Turcotte and Mark Ferner on the roster. Tonight's game will decide the season series, in which the teams split the first pair of games. The Caps got a rough 5-2 win over Philadelphia Sunday and have won three home games in a row. New Jersey is just two points ahead of the Caps for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Patrick Division.

The Washington Capitals were one of the busiest teams Friday when the doors to the 2011 NHL free agent market opened, as general manager George McPhee sent goalie Semyon Varlamov to Colorado for a pair of draft picks and added three veterans to the lineup. In signing role player and former Capitals captain Jeff Halpern, two-way defenseman Roman Hamrlik and a big-bodied, hard working winger in Joel Ward, Washington elevated the leadership in a still-young dressing room and filled holes in the roster that will be left by the departure of up to five unrestricted free agents.

Brooks Laich scored twice and five other Washington players had goals to lift the short-handed Capitals to a 7-3 win over the host Florida Panthers on Tuesday night. The Capitals were without star Alex Ovechkin , who was suspended for two games for a hit on Chicago's Brian Campbell . Ovechkin will also miss Thursday's game at Carolina. Nicklas Backstrom , Eric Fehr , Brendan Morrison , Jason Chimera and Alexander Semin each scored for the Capitals.

NHL Capitals to open at home against Devils The Washington Capitals unveiled their regular-season schedule for 2012-13 on Thursday. It begins Oct. 12 at home against the New Jersey Devils at 7 p.m. Washington faces the other teams in the Southeast Division six times each and the remaining Eastern Conference opponents four times each. The Capitals play each team in the Western Conference at least once, with two games each against the Nashville Predators, Los Angeles Kings and Dallas Stars.

I got a chance at Monday's press conference for the Baltimore Hockey Classic to chat with Capitals general manager George McPhee about the team's maturation since last year's playoffs. McPhee believes Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals' other young stars have grown up.

NHL Caps bring back Tim Hunter as assistant The Washington Capitals rounded out their coaching staff and raised the experience level behind the bench significantly Monday when they named Tim Hunter as an assistant coach. Hunter, 51, has 13 seasons as an NHL assistant coach, including five in Washington from 1997-98 to 2001-02. As he joins first-time head coach Adam Oates and first-time NHL assistant coach Calle Johansson , Hunter knows he is expected to be the experienced anchor of the staff.

NHL Capitals send Bourque to Bruins for Hamill The Washington Capitals acquired center Zach Hamill from the Boston Bruins for left wing Chris Bourque . Hamill, 23, recorded eight goals and 13assists in 41 games last season with the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound center had two assists in 16games with Boston in 2011-12. Bourque, 26, had 27goals and 66 assists in 73games with the Hershey Bears in 2011-12.