Updated: Tue, May 14, 2013

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Glen Gulutzan couldn't end the longest playoff drought in franchise history for the Dallas Stars and the second-year coach didn't hold the option on the remaining season in his contract. When the general manager who hired him was dumped two weeks ago, Gulutzan's firing...

Updated: Tue, May 14, 2013

BOSTON (AP) — Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli says he was preparing for disappointment before his team pulled off its remarkable comeback. He says he was thinking ahead to what the next few days would be like until Boston started its third-period rally and beat the Toronto Maple Leafs...

Thom Loverro

Updated: Mon, May 13, 2013

A history of failure defines the Washington Capitals. This group may want to separate themselves from the past, but Monday night's 5-0 Game 7 loss to the New York Rangers binds Alex Ovechkin to the long list of former Capitals who came up short while wearing the jersey of this organization....

John Keim

Updated: Mon, May 13, 2013

It wasn't about power plays. It wasn't about missed calls. In the end, it was all about blown chances and missed opportunities. Besides, the Capitals didn't have to spend time killing power plays Monday night in their 5-0 Game 7 first-round loss to the New York Rangers. Rather, they spent more...

Brian McNally

Updated: Mon, May 13, 2013

Capitals get crushed in decisive Game 7 The heartbreak appears every spring as if on cue. By the middle of the second period of Monday's decisive Eastern Conference first-round Game 7 between the Capitals and New York Rangers, it was apparent the game would take its place on the long list of...

Brian McNally

Published: Sun, May 12, 2013

Lundqvist shuts out Caps in Game 6 in MSG NEW YORK -- It seemed destined to happen again. Four times in the past five years, the Capitals have played the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup playoffs. For the third time, they will go the distance. Derick Brassard's second-period goal...

Brian McNally

Updated: Thu, May 9, 2013

Caps, Rangers analyze tapes for weaknesses Capitals coach Adam Oates often employs a go-to analogy about the modern NHL. In the relatively short span of time between the end of his Hall-of-Fame playing career in 2004 and now, the league has become akin to the NFL, where video data is...

Brian McNally

Updated: Wed, May 8, 2013

NEW YORK -- The Capitals struggled to complete a pass, handle the puck, generate traffic in front of the net, stay out of the penalty box and push shots through on goal. All in all, the first 35 minutes of play against the New York Rangers on Wednesday night were an unmitigated disaster. And...

Brian McNally

Published: Tue, May 7, 2013

Capitals take off-day to regroup for Game 4 The Capitals could have spent their off-day Tuesday in Newark conducting a light practice. Sometimes the best way to shake off a disappointing Stanley Cup playoff loss is to get right back on the ice, and that was the plan. But Washington coach...

Brian McNally

Updated: Tue, May 7, 2013

Rangers score late, hold on for wild win In their long, tortured Stanley Cup playoff history, the Capitals had never once won the first three games of a series. That remains true now, and any thoughts of quickly dispatching the New York Rangers this spring are gone. Six power-play...