ARLINGTON, Va. -- Amid bright expectations and newfound stability, the Washington Capitals opened training camp Thursday. It didnt take long for the mood to change. Roughly 10 minutes into the opening practice, forward Brooks Laich -- coming off an injury-ruined season -- left the ice at Kettler Iceplex, saying he had a "flare-up" of a strained hip flexor suffered a week ago on his first day in Washington after a summer of successful rehab of a pulled groin. Laich, one of the Capitals locker room leaders, was anxious for the start of camp after playing only nine games last year. "The ice here is a lot softer than the ice I skated on back home (in Saskatchewan), and when I skated here I just tweaked it a little bit," Laich said. "Its completely nonrelated to anything I went through last year and on the other side of my body." Laichs status is day-to-day. Neither general manager George McPhee nor coach Adam Oates sounded particularly concerned. "Hopefully its a day or two," McPhee said. While the injury may not be serious, it is symbolic of a star-crossed team that has consistently underachieved in the post-season. Franchise cornerstones Nicklas Backstrom, 25, Mike Green, 27, and Alex Ovechkin, who turns 28 on Sept. 17, have helped propel Washington to five division titles in the last six years but with no trips to the conference finals. Last years 5-0 loss to the New York Rangers at home in Game 7 of the opening round after leading the series 2-0 was perhaps the teams most embarrassing playoff pratfall. "Weve proven (to) ourselves that were a good team. But we havent proven were a great team," Green said. "The only way to do that is to win a Stanley Cup." Washington hopes that stability will help achieve that goal. The team underwent a radical makeover in the middle of the 2011-12 season when Dale Hunter replaced Bruce Boudreau as coach. There was another difficult transition when Oates took over last summer, with little preseason to install his system due to the NHL lockout. "Last couple of years weve had a little bit of chaos in there as far as knowing where you fit in on the team, knowing where your role is," forward Troy Brouwer said. "This year with very limited spots on the team, everyone kind of knows where they fall in and whats expected of them even before camp starts." On the ice, Washington will look for improvement from young goalies Braden Holtby, 23, and Michal Neuvirth, 24, under the direction of Olie Kolzig. The former Caps great was promoted to head goaltender coach after two seasons with the team in a developmental role. Many of the Caps expressed their approval of the realigned NHL. Washington will play in the Metropolitan Division along with traditional rivals including the New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Philadelphia Flyers. The Capitals open the regular season on Oct. 1 on the road against the NHL champion Chicago Blackhawks, a prospect that doesnt please Brouwer, a former Chicago player who still resides in the city. "I spent a lot of the summer trying to avoid Chicago," Brouwer said. "The worst thing that could happen to me this summer was having to play them opening night and see the banner." Cheap Mel Ott Jersey . As for regular Olympic spectators, theyre being warned that most travel insurance policies wont cover acts of terrorism or war. The Games in southern Russia, which run from Feb. 7-23, are being staged amid unprecedented security and under global warnings of danger. Cheap Giants Jerseys China . On Friday night, after a long rain delay, he was scratched from his scheduled start. http://www.cheapsanfranciscogiantsjerseys.com/ . Although Olivetti, a qualifier, had 13 aces, he failed to force a single break-point chance on Gasquets serve and lost his own three times. Gasquet next plays third-seeded Jerzy Janowicz of Poland, who won had 18 aces in a 6-2, 6-4 win against seventh-seeded Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France. Cheap Gaylord Perry Jersey . Scheffler told The Associated Press on Wednesday he made the choice because he had three concussions over the past four years. Cheap Barry Bonds Jersey . The Rainbow FlickNext up is the Rainbow Flick, or as you probably know it, the trick that everybody at soccer camp thought they knew how to do.CHICAGO - Pekka Rinne and the Nashville Predators have had a frustrating season. On Sunday night, they were able to deal a dose of frustration to the Chicago Blackhawks. Rinne made 29 saves for his first shutout in more than a year to lead Nashville to a 2-0 win over Chicago. Mike Fisher and Gabriel Bourque scored for the Predators, who won their second straight and improved to 3-1 against the Blackhawks this season. "You saw tonight exactly what Pekka Rinne can do for you," Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. When hes healthy. Rinne, a two-time Vezina Trophy finalist had surgery on his left hip in May 2013 and recovered in time to play in nine of the Predators first 10 games to start the season. But an infection in the hip required him to undergo a second surgery and he missed 51 games. Rinne was sharp in his 31st career shutout, his first since March 12, 2013, as Chicago dominated territorially in the first two periods and outshot Nashville 29-17 for the game. "It feels good after tonights win," Rinne said. "Against a top team like that, its going to get the best out of you and we showed that as team tonight." Rinne has started nine of 11 games since returning in a 3-1 loss to Pittsburgh on March 4. But in three games before Sunday, he allowed 13 goals while taking two losses and a no-decision. "Obviously, I never thought it was going to be this kind of season," Rinne said. "I put that behind me now and Im focusing on these last games we have left ... and at the same time having a good summer and being ready to the next season." The Predators are all but out of the playoff picture in the Western Conference. On Sunday, Nashville forced the Blackhawks to shoot from the perimeter and limited second and third chances as the game went on. "It started with us getting the shot from the outside that he can see and control," defenceman Ryan Ellis said. "But hes one of the best in the league. He came out of the net and played (the puck) well and overall was just unreal tonight." Chicago came out flying despite playing its second game without Patrick Kane, the teams leading scorer when he was injured against St. Louis on Wednesday. The star forward is on injured reserve with a lower-body injury and could miss the rest of the regular season. But once Nashville got a lead and as the game progressed, the Predators defence and Rinne took over. "We had a good start, had a couple great looks at the net, missed the net, missed the opportunities there." Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "They scored first and it was the same, exact same as what hhappened the other day.dddddddddddd. "They get the lead, go into a checkfest, and they check well." Chicago fell six points behind Western Conference and Central Division leader St. Louis, which defeated Pittsburgh 1-0 earlier on Sunday. The Blackhawks Corey Crawford made 15 saves. Predators defenceman Seth Jones suffered concussion-like symptoms didnt return for the second period. Hell be evaluated when the team returns to Nashville. Forward Patric Hornqvist, tied for second on the Predators with 38 points, missed the game and returned to Nashville to be with his wife following the birth of the couples first child. The Blackhawks outshot the Predators 11-6 in the first and dominated much of the period, but Nashville led 1-0 after 20 minutes. Fisher opened the scoring on a deflection with 1:22 remaining in the first when he slipped in unchecked from the left side of the net. Ellis shot through a screen from the right point, and Fisher jammed in front and tipped the puck past Crawford. The Blackhawks came out strong in the second, but Rinne stopped several close-in chances and limited rebounds to keep the Predators ahead. Bourque made it 2-0 with 2:25 left in the period on a rising shot from the left circle that sailed over Crawfords right shoulder as he dropped to the ice. In the third, Rinne came through when tested and managed the puck conservatively, often smothering it to eliminate Chicago rebounds and chances. Rinne stopped Niklas Hjalmarssons screened shot from the point in the final minute, then sprawled to stop Jonathan Toews rebound attempt from the side of the net. Notes: Trotz praised his teams defensive play, but singled out star defenceman Shea Weber who logged 34 minutes, 14 seconds. "Our defence, especially Weber, was an absolutely monster out there today," Trotz said. "It was worth every penny watching him. Before the game, Quenneville said theres "a good chance" top prospect Teuvo Teravainen could make his NHL debut on Tuesday against Dallas. Teravainen, Chicagos first-round draft pick in 2012, joined the Blackhawks on Friday and has been skating with the team. ... F Matt Carey, 22, signed by Chicago as a free agent on Thursday following one season at St. Lawrence University, also has joined the Blackhawks and could play down the stretch. ... Chicago F Brandon Saad returned on Sunday after missing three games with an upper-body injury. F Bryan Bickell and D Michal Rozsival remained out. ... Sitting out with injuries for Nashville were F Patrick Eaves and F Paul Gaustad. D Michael Del Zotto was a healthy scratch. 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