his philosophy towards scoring: "If you want money, go to the bank. If you want bread, go to the bakery. If you want goals, go to the net." During the playoffs, Laich had a five-game point streak in the Eastern Conference quarter-finals against the Philadelphia Flyers. This tied him for the longest point streak during the first round of the playoffs. As a restricted free agent after the season, Laich signed a three-year deal with the team on July 9, 2008. The 2008–09 season saw Laich play in all 82 games for the Capitals again, where he set new career highs in goals, assists and points; he scored 23 goals and added 30 assists, breaking the 50-point plateau for the first time in his career. During the Capitals' playoff run, Laich played in 14 games and added seven points. He assisted on the overtime winning goal in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Final against the eventual Stanley Cup champions Pittsburgh Penguins. Laich's streak of consecutive games played was broken in the 2009–10 season, when he missed four games with a cheekbone injury in February 2010. He still managed to set new career highs in both goals (25) and assists (34). On February 10, shortly after returning from injury, Laich recorded his first career NHL hat trick, against the Montreal Canadiens. During the playoffs, Laich scored the last goal of the Capitals season during Game 7 against the Montreal Canadiens. During the 2010–11 season, the Capitals participated in the 2011 NHL Winter Classic against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh. Leading up to the game, both teams were featured on HBO's 24/7, which offered a behind-the-scenes look at both teams as they prepared. Laich refused to blame the presence of the cameras for the team's losing streak, saying, "There's no using the HBO cameras as a crutch or an annoyance or anything like that. There's no excuse. I don't think HBO has played any bit of an ounce in how things have gone the last two weeks." Laich was appreciative of the opportunities afforded by the outdoor game, and was happy to be able to share time with his family and friends on the outdoor rink set up at Heinz Field. On June 28, 2011, Laich signed a six-year, $27 million contract extension worth $4.5 million per season. As the player representative for the Washington Capitals during the 2012