The Washington Capitals raced out to a 4-0 lead and held on in the third period for a 4-3 victory over the New York Rangers in the final pre-season game for both teams.  The Caps open Thursday in Boston against the Bruins.

Brooks Laich had a goal and an assist for the Capitals as they built a 4-0 lead after two periods. Washington also got goals from Alexander Semin, Chris Bourke and Mike Knuble. Semyon Varlamov stopped 28 shots.

Artem Anisimov, Evgeny Grachev and Donald Brashear scored for the Rangers in the third.  New York out shot the Caps 31-28, including a 20-4 advantage in the third.

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Capitals Insider reports this morning that forwards Keith Aucoin, Alexandre Giroux, and Brandon Sugden and defenseman Karl Alzner did not practice with the team, leading to speculation that they are four of the five players that need to be removed from the roster prior to 3 pm Wednesday, the deadline for final opening day roster cuts.

Chris Bourque, Quintin Laing and Tyler Sloan all skated with the team today at practice.

The fifth cut could very well be Michael Nylander, potentially being traded or transferred to an overseas team, or Michael Neuvirth, who "tweaked" an undisclosed body part Saturday morning at practice and was unavailable for the Sunday game.
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The first Capitals Convention was held Saturday at the Gaylord National Convention Center.  The Caps took over parts of two floors and offered panel discussions, autographs and pictures with current and former players, plenty of merchandise for sale, and interactive games for kids, both big and little.

Overall, the convention was a huge success.  With any first-time endeavor, there were a couple of things that could have been better or run a little smoother, but Ted's already on it

Here are a few pics.  We'll have a more elaborate slideshow available soon.







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