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Boudreau admits he wanted the Caps to lose

Bruce Boudreau

Anaheim Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau gives instructions during a timeout in the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012. The Ducks won 2-1. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

AP

He may have landed on his feet in Anaheim, but Bruce Boudreau still didn’t want the team that fired him to do well in last year’s playoffs.

The former head coach of the Washington Capitals, now the Ducks’ bench boss, confessed as much in an interview with NHL.com.

“I think human nature dictates that I didn’t want them to win,” Boudreau said. “I think that’s just human nature. I was hoping for some players to have success and players I really like to do well and they did, but quite frankly nobody ever admits it -- and maybe I just did -- but I wasn’t exactly pulling for them because it would have validated me losing my job.”

Boudreau was fired by the Capitals in November after a tumultuous stint in Washington that included plenty of regular-season success but repeated playoff disappointment.

Along the way the Caps went from playing a run-and-gun style to practically the opposite end of the spectrum under Boudreau’s replacement, Dale Hunter.

Purely from an X’s and O’s standpoint, Washington’s been a fascinating team to watch the past few seasons. (Not to mention all the other drama.)

Come to think of it, one of the many unfortunate aspects of the NHL lockout is that we still don’t know how the Caps will play under new head coach Adam Oates.

Related: Alex Ovechkin ready for offense under Oates