Capitals season preview: Moving on from Cup celebration key to repeat

The 2018-19 NHL season begins Wednesday. NHL.com is taking a look at the five keys, the inside scoop on roster questions, and the projected lines for all 31 teams. Today, the Washington Capitals.

Coach: Todd Reirden (first season)
Last season: 49-26-7; first place Metropolitan Division, won the Stanley Cup.
RELATED: [2018-19 Season Preview coverage\]

5 KEYS

1. Get past the hangover

Experiencing some kind of emotional letdown after winning the Stanley Cup for the first time in the Capitals' 43-season history would be understandable. How they handle it will be paramount in their bid to match what the Pittsburgh Penguins did in 2016 and 2017 and repeat as champions.
Getting up for the Cup banner raising and season opener against the Boston Bruins on Oct. 3 will be easy. The challenge will come after they settle into the routine of the regular season and are used as a measuring stick by every opponent.
"We've got to realize that everything is going to be tougher to start and all the games are going to be tougher against us," center Nicklas Backstrom said. "We better play our best hockey to start, that's reality."

2. Todd Reirden's transition

Washington's roster remained mostly intact. Fourth-line center Jay Beagle (signed with Vancouver Canucks) and backup goaltender Philipp Grubauer (traded to Colorado Avalanche) were the only players who didn't return from its lineup for the clinching win in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Capitals' biggest offseason change was Reirden taking over as coach from Barry Trotz, who resigned June 18 and joined the New York Islanders three days later. Reirden's positivity and ability to relate to role and star players made him popular in the locker room as an assistant and associate and should serve him well as the coach. But as a first-time NHL coach he'll have to learn when to push players in times of trouble and when to give them space.

3. A healthy Braden Holtby

Trading Grubauer, who started 28 games last season, left the Capitals without a safety net behind Holtby. Pheonix Copley, who is expected to begin the season as the backup and has started one NHL game in his career, is the only other goaltender in the organization with NHL experience.
The Capitals plan to lean more on Holtby early in the season while Copley gets acclimated, but will need Copley to handle his share of starts to prevent Holtby from tiring during a long season. Without an experienced backup, Holtby is the player the Capitals least can afford to lose.

4. Another stellar season from Alex Ovechkin

Ovechkin set the tone from the start of last season by scoring seven goals in the first two games and went on to lead the League for the seventh time in his career with 49 in 82 games. The 33-year-old left wing also led the NHL with a Capitals-record 15 goals during the Stanley Cup Playoffs and complemented his goal scoring with his two-way play to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs.
Any thoughts that Ovechkin would be satisfied with winning the Cup once were put to rest when he reported for training camp in excellent shape and looking leaner than last season.

5. Improve the penalty kill

The Capitals were 15th in the NHL on the penalty kill last season at 80.3 percent during the regular season and dropped to 76.0 percent during the playoffs. They plan to be more aggressive shorthanded this season and integrate faster, more offensively skilled players such as forward Evgeny Kuznetsov, hoping that will help them disrupt opposing power plays.

ROSTER RUNDOWN

Making the cut

The only competition in training camp was between rookie Travis Boyd and Nic Dowd for the fourth-line center job vacated by Beagle. That ended when Boyd sustained a lower-body in a preseason game against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday. With Boyd out week-to-week, Dowd will begin the season as the fourth-line center.

Most intriguing addition

Copley, 26, has paid his dues for four seasons in the AHL waiting for this opportunity. If he proves capable of handling 15-plus starts, Washington can give rookie Ilya Samsonov, the No. 22 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, time in Hershey to develop and won't have to look elsewhere for a backup.

Biggest potential surprise

Defenseman Christian Djoos showed flashes of offensive skill with 14 points (three goals, 11 assists) in 63 games as a rookie last season. Looking more confident heading into his second season, the 24-year-old has the potential to increase his production and his ice time after he averaged 14:02 per game last season, sixth among Capitals defensemen.

Ready to break through

Forward Jakub Vrana bounced around the lineup as a rookie last season and scored 13 goals. With an opportunity to play regularly on the second line with Backstrom and T.J. Oshie this season, the 22-year-old should score more than 20.

PROJECTED LINEUP

Alex Ovechkin -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana -- Nicklas Backstrom -- T.J. Oshie
Andre Burakovsky -- Lars Eller -- Brett Connolly
Chandler Stephenson - Nic Dowd -- Devante Smith-Pelly
Dmitry Orlov -- Matt Niskanen
Michal Kempny -- John Carlson
Brooks Orpik -- Christian Djoos
Braden Holtby
Pheonix Copley