PITTSBURGH - The losses were never brought up by Bruce Boudreau. Not the series loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in last spring's Eastern Conference semifinals. Or the Game 7 blowout on home ice that ended the Washington Capitals' season on an ugly note.

It could have been an easy way to motivate his team before playing the reigning Stanley Cup champions for the first time this season. He didn't have to.

"We never even discussed it," he said.

Reporters mentioned it. We asked about it. We even got Mike Green to admit on Thursday morning that the Capitals have a chip on their shoulder because of the way the Penguins ended their season. But internally, Boudreau said the motivation behind Thursday's 6-3 victory had nothing to do with last season. This was a week to see how the Caps measured up against potential playoff teams, and Thursday was a game to prove that a poor effort against Detroit was an aberration.

The Capitals didn't like the way they played on Tuesday against the Detroit Red Wings. They were outskated, outshot and probably lucky to come away with two points.

Ovechkin called the performance terrible. Boudreau credited the game for the energy the Capitals had in the first period against the Penguins.

"You can say it was mad, that's fine," Boudreau said. "I think it was more determination because we came out so crappy last game. ... I don't think it was anger aimed at Pittsburgh. It was just whoever the opposition was today."

Lately it has been quality opposition. Boudreau looked at this stretch of games against Philadelphia, Detroit and Pittsburgh and saw an opportunity to measure just where his team ranks as the season approaches the stretch run.

Based on what he has seen on the ice and television, Boudreau concludes the Capitals are one of the NHL's 10 best teams. He's way too conservative.

The Capitals have ripped off five consecutive wins, the past two against the teams that played for a Stanley Cup last spring.

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The Capitals are the Eastern Conference's best team, and this week they proved it. Against the Penguins, they overcame an early soft goal allowed by Jose Theodore. Their power play was a perfect two-for-two. The penalty kill was perfect, too, although that's not exactly an accomplishment against the sputtering Penguins' power play.

They showed off their depth with goals from Eric Fehr and Tomas Fleischmann, to complement a strong game from the Ovechkin line. Theodore showed resolve by bouncing back after his mishandled puck led to Pittsburgh's first goal.

And perhaps the most impressive indication this is a maturing, confident Capitals team came in the third period when they broke the tie and never let the Penguins back in the game. Three third-period goals, and it was over.

A team known for its offense, ramped up the effort on defense.

"Nobody wants to give us credit for that. I thought we were good in the third period defensively," Boudreau said.

Yeah, that Game 7 loss to the Penguins is history. This win buried it even more.

"When you're on the ice you don't try to think about Game 7. You know (the Penguins) are an unbelievable team and they play well," Ovechkin said. "We want to be in that spot where they were last year."

It's not hard to imagine.

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