ARLINGTON, Va. Ryan Anderson Rockets Jersey . -- 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." Chris Paul Authentic Jersey . -- Jerome Verrier scored once and set up two more as the Drummondville Voltigeurs downed the visiting Chicoutimi Sagueneens 5-1 on Friday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League play. Clint Capela Rockets Jersey .com) - Nicolas Colsaerts fired an 11-under 60 on Thursday and grabbed a 3-stroke lead with the opening round of the Portugal Masters suspended by rain. http://www.authenticrocketsproshop.com/Pj-Tucker-Jersey/ . The Spanish champions decision not to sign a defender during the January transfer window may have backfired after Valencia took advantage of a lethargic, uninspired effort by its hosts at the Camp Nou, where former Spain coach Luis Aragones -- who previously coached the Catalan side -- was honoured after his death on Saturday.Liverpool, England (SportsNetwork.com) - Liverpool will look to get back on the right track on Sunday when the club welcomes Arsenal to Anfield. The Reds have suffered a massive dip in form, dropping five of their last 11 matches across all competitions. They were riding a five-game unbeaten run before Sundays trip to Old Trafford, but Brendan Rodgers men were demolished in a 3-0 loss to Manchester United. Raheem Sterling operated as an out-and-out striker and was incredibly wasteful in front of goal, unable to beat David De Gea in multiple one-on-one opportunities with the United goalkeeper. But Rodgers maintained faith in the Liverpool youngster and deployed him in the same position for the clubs midweek clash with Bournemouth in the league cup. It paid dividends as Sterling netted a brace in what finished as a 3-1 victory for Liverpool. Sterling may have found a new calling amid Liverpools constant scoring woes. Rickie Lambert and Mario Balotelli have been ineffective in the early part of the season, and with Daniel Sturridge still sidelined through injury, Liverpool may rely on Sterling for goals against an Arsenal side that has won five of its last six across all competitions. The Gunners are coming off of a commanding performance against struggling Newcastle as braces from Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla granted the club a 4-1 home victory last time out. Still, Arsenal finds itself in sixth place in the table with just 26 points, though a win at Liverpool could launch the Gunners into fourth place, depending on Saturdays results. Southampton enters the weekend in fifth place on 26 points, dropping from its second-place position after a run of four straight defeats. The Saints will hope to reverse their poor form on Saturday when they welcome Everton to St. Steve Francis Jersey. . Marys. West Ham United, meanwhile, sits fourth in the table with 28 points. The Hammers have taken 10 points from their last four games and will attempt to rebound from a draw with Sunderland when they host lowly Leicester City at Upton Park. Manchester City has been bitten by the injury bug as the likes of Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic will be unavailable for Saturdays clash with Crystal Palace. The Citizens, though, will welcome David Silva back to the fold as they will look to go level with first-place Chelsea by taking maximum points from Palace at the Etihad. Manchester United will test its six-game winning run on Saturday when the club heads to Villa Park to face Aston Villa and Tottenham will look to build upon its defeat of Swansea City when it hosts Burnley at White Hart Lane. Rounding out Saturdays action, Swansea will head to the KC Stadium to face Hull City while QPR will aim to bounce back from a disappointing loss to Everton when it hosts West Bromwich Albion at Loftus Road. Newcastle United was humbled in a 4-1 defeat to Arsenal last time out while Sunderlands winless run in Premier League play was extended to six games with a 1-1 draw to West Ham. The two clubs will meet at St. James Park on Sunday for the latest installment of the Tyne-Wear derby. Mondays lone contest will see first-place Chelsea travel to the Britannia to take on plucky Stoke City. Potters manager Mark Hughes has been adept at taking points off of some of the leagues top sides, and with Chelseas injury concerns gradually worsening, a slip-up from Jose Mourinhos men may not be out of the question. Wholesale NFL T-shirts Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping NFL Jerseys Wholesale China NFL Gear Wholesale NFL Camo Jerseys Cheap NFL Hoodies Camo China NFL Jerseys ' ' '