Capitals' Ward: I'll be ready to start season

Washington Capitals forward Joel Ward said he'll start the season on time after having offseason surgery to repair a sports hernia.

"I think I'll be ready to go for sure on opening night," Ward told Caps 365 in a video posted Thursday on the team's website.

Ward had 18 points in 73 games for the Capitals last season. He scored the winning goal in Game 7 to eliminate the defending champion Boston Bruins in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Ward had surgery in June, and told NBC Washington he was bedridden for two weeks before he could begin training. The Capitals' first game of the 2012-13 season is scheduled for Oct. 12.

"You feel some nicks ... but your adrenaline gets going in the game, so you don't really feel it as much," Ward said. "Once I had some down time, I knew something was sitting there and was bothering me. It was something good to take care of, and I definitely feel in the better process of it now and (can) hopefully get back to 100 percent."