Bruce Almighty

Maybe Bruce Boudreau was fortunate. One of the few things Boudreau tweaked before his first game as coach of the Washington Capitals was the power play, which had struggled under former coach Glen Hanlon. The Caps had an opportunity with the man advantage 1:44 into that first game, and 43 seconds later defenseman Mike Green scored on a feed from center Nicklas Backstrom.

“It was like, ’Whoa. Maybe he does know something,’ ” Boudreau said. “I think that was fortunate for us to be quick to get them on our side.”

The reality is Boudreau had succeeded as a coach in many leagues for many teams for many years — four, seven and 17, to be precise — and he didn’t need the Capitals to score on that first power play to prove it.

Still, what Boudreau has accomplished in a short span with the Caps is remarkable. This career minor leaguer has transformed them from the worst team in the NHL into a legitimate contender, albeit in a weak Southeast Division. In order to do so, he had to change the culture of a team that was accustomed to working hard but coming up short.

When general manager George McPhee fired Hanlon and put Boudreau in charge on an interim basis on Thanksgiving morning, the Caps were an NHL-worst 6-14-1 and careening toward a fourth consecutive last-place finish in the division.

“We just wanted to win,” defenseman Tom Poti said. “Bruce came in and pretty much told us if we play the way he wants us to play, then we will win. Who were we to say no? We said, ’Let’s try it and see if it works,’ because what we were doing wasn’t working. It has been working, and our respect for him just keeps growing.”

Boudreau walked into the first meeting with the team and saw several players who had won big with him at Hershey in the American Hockey League. Those players and their stories of his success in the minors helped establish Boudreau’s credibility in the dressing room.

But Boudreau, a 52-year-old hockey lifer, had to make his veteran players believe as well. He has remained sincere and passionate from Day 1, both in his criticism and his praise. It did not take long for the team’s elder statesmen to accept him, and as a result the Caps started winning consistently.

“He doesn’t cower to anyone. He comes right out and says what is on his mind instead of going somewhere else to vent,” goalie Brent Johnson said. “He comes around and talks to every guy on the team, which is awesome … and now he has a good reputation for that.”

Andy Murray has known Boudreau since their days together in the Los Angeles Kings’ organization. Boudreau considers the St. Louis Blues coach a mentor.

Murray understands Boudreau’s appeal to players.

“He’s humble,” Murray said. “It is part of the reason why maybe he hasn’t been in the NHL before and also what creates respect for him on the part of the players is his humble, almost effacing type of attitude. There are so many coaches that are self-promoters, but Bruce isn’t like that at all. It is something the players can identify and respect.”

Much has been said and written about Boudreau’s system and its key to the team’s success, though he downplays its impact. Maybe of greater importance than the technical aspects is the general philosophical change Boudreau introduced.

Boudreau wants his team to force its style of play on opposing teams rather than letting opponents dictate the flow. It is a change befitting a team blessed with youth and skill, and the Caps have become one of the most entertaining teams in the league.

Lineup changes that seemed questionable at first, like putting Backstrom on the fourth line for Boudreau’s first two games or moving Viktor Kozlov to the second line after he began scoring goals with the top unit, produced immediate results.

When the power play struggled last month, Boudreau set aside a large portion of practice Feb. 9 to work on it. The team responded with a pair of extra-man markers in a 3-2 overtime win over the Rangers the next day.

The Caps have converted 21.1 percent of their power-play opportunities with Boudreau and 31 percent in the past 11 games, moving up from 24th in the league at Thanksgiving to sixth.

“He thinks the game a little bit differently than everybody else,” Poti said. “He kind of thinks outside the box. In today’s NHL, you have to do something different or something special. We don’t just have one thing we do and do that all the time. We always adjust to what the other team is doing. We have different breakouts, different forechecks, different faceoff plays for each team we play, and I think that is one of the keys to our success. We are able to change.”

And change they have. Green has not only become the league’s leading goal scorer among defensemen, he logs heavy minutes and is one of the most dynamic puck carriers at his position. Boudreau decided to pair Backstrom with Alex Ovechkin, and the 20-year-old rookie has more points (49) than games played (47) for the new coach after netting nine in the season’s first 21 games.

Then there is Ovechkin, who has 40 goals since Boudreau’s arrival — more than all but two players in the league have for the whole season — and could break the franchise record of 60 en route to possibly collecting as many as four major trophies (Ross, Richard, Hart and Pearson).

The success has not gone unnoticed. When the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby suffered an ankle injury, Ovechkin became the league’s alpha male in the media spotlight. Major publications across the continent have scrambled to devote space to the story behind a minor league journeyman coach from Toronto who has made the most of his dream chance.

“Everybody says it is success, but we’re not where we want to be yet,” Boudreau said. “We’re doing OK, but we’ve got to get better, so I don’t really classify it as a success yet.”

His old friend disagrees.

“It is funny, but I haven’t called him,” Murray said. “When a guy’s got it rolling, I am a firm believer in just letting it go while it is going well. If he ever wasn’t going well I would call him. Actually, he should probably call me now.”

When Boudreau showed up at Kettler Capitals Iceplex that Thanksgiving morning, no one knew how long he would be in charge. Once the team started winning, it made McPhee’s decision a lot easier, and he soon removed the interim tag.

Still, Boudreau remains under contract only for the remainder of this season. McPhee is generally tight-lipped about the status of coaching contracts. It’s something even the candid Boudreau isn’t willing to discuss.

“Hey, I am just going day to day,” Boudreau said. “I love what I am doing. We’re doing a good job, and I’m having fun at it. It all works out in the end usually.”