Bruce Boudreau is out, Dale Hunter is in, and Tuesday night’s game against the Blues now looks like the must-see game of the week–even ahead of Thursday night’s Pittsburgh tilt. Not that I have to pick and choose: season tickets are a wonderful thing.

I’ll leave the dedicated hockey side of the story to the dedicated hockey writers. I doubt I’ve much to add to the hard news.

But here’s an intriguing question: did my cards actually see this coming, and I missed it?

Recall from Part VI of my preseason reading that one of the cards in the Immediate Future position was The Hanged Man, and the other, the 3 of Swords. I took this as meaning that the team might tread water a bit in the early going, and that there might be quite a bit of sadness.

Here’s what I wrote two months ago:

I think what we’re going to see early on could be a sense that we’re watching a rerun of a prior season episode of deja vu all over again. And if so, it’s not going to be fun to watch. If it really does come to that, there could be no small amount of weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Put simply, these two cards, put together, do indicate a rough start to the season.

Needless to say, I was eating quite a bit of humble pie after the Caps’ 7-0-0 start. (Okay, okay, it wasn’t humble pie, it was French silk pie, but hey, technicalities.) Well, now, 22 games in, the Capitals are indeed treading water, Coach Boudreau has gotten a metaphorical hanging that wasn’t by his foot, and there really has been no small amount of weeping and gnashing of teeth.

However, this is the point in the season where I can’t quite say for sure one way or the other whether or not we’re still in Immediate Future territory. On the one hand, we’re 22 games in, which doesn’t quite strike me as “immediate.” On the other, it’s not yet December, there are five dozen games to go, the All Star game is still two months away, and there’s still a lot of future left in this season; so maybe we still are in Immediate Future territory. As any good book on tarot will tell you, the cards can be maddeningly imprecise when the question is “when?” About the only exception to that is when an Ace shows up in certain positions on a Celtic Cross spread. But as far as what the cards consider “immediate future” on an 82-game regular season, well, good luck getting a precise number on that one.

Now, if this coaching change were taking place even as early as the Winter Classic, I’d still be under the impression that we wouldn’t be in Immediate Future territory. Nineteen games into the season, I would say no problem. But that 2 in the first position…oh, holy crap, I just thought of something. Literally in the middle of typing that sentence.

The Caps have played 22 games. 22. For one thing, there are 22 cards in the Major Arcana, for whatever that’s worth. And for another, in numerology, 22 is considered a master number. It does still break down to a 4, but the influence of 22 is still there, which makes it a bit more powerful.

Meaning what, exactly?

Whether intentionally or not, the Caps have brought Dale Hunter in at a very powerful moment in the season. What becomes of the remains of the season is anyone’s guess.

But here’s the part that has given me goose bumps for most of the day. If my cards really did see this coming, and I simply misread two cards I have trouble with…what then of my final prediction–Caps win it all–which was based off two cards I had so little trouble reading that I almost couldn’t accept what they were telling me? Is this coaching change an early season sign that points all the way to a championship? Could it possibly mean…? I don’t know, but the intrigue just got kicked up a few notches.

So, did my cards predict Boudreau’s firing? I’m not sure. They certainly indicated a rough start, but at what point did 7-0-0 wipe that out? Or was that 7-0-0 accounted for as part of a longer stretch than I read it as initially? I don’t claim to know the definitive answer to that, and for that matter, I’m not sure if there even is one. Maybe the fact that I can’t answer it with certainty either way, is all the answer to that question that I’m ever going to get. It’s a mysterious universe we live in.

Stranger still…

The Capitals sent out a notice to their season ticket holders announcing Coach Hunter’s hiring. I received it at 11:11. 11 is also a master number, and there it is, doubled. Weirder yet? This post is the 333rd post, all-time, on my blog.

That’s an awful lot of repeating numbers all at once. I’d like to write that off as a statistical oddity, a fluky coincidence, just a tiny little freak event. But I can’t quite shake the feeling that there may be more going on here, spiritually, than I know about right now. I may have to look into this a little further over the next few days, if time permits, although three Caps games in five nights might ultimately say it doesn’t.

For now, a hearty “Thanks for everything, and good luck” to Bruce Boudreau, and a hearty “Welcome back, and good luck” to Dale Hunter.

See you all tomorrow night at the rink. It’s going to be interesting hearing how loudly Dale Hunter gets welcomed back. So interesting, my audiologist will have to see his cardiologist…but that’s another story.

CAPITAL SPIRIT
THIS IS WHERE THE FUN STARTS

For the second consecutive Saturday night, the Capitals have visited a team with more than half a dozen AHL call-ups on the roster, and for the second consecutive Saturday night, they’ve gotten destroyed. This less than 24 hours after getting doubled up, 6-3, by a Rangers team that had not scored that many goals all season. And let’s not forget that godawful Dallas game, which yielded a bag skate the next day.

It hasn’t gotten through. If the results on the ice don’t tell you that, Joel Ward’s oversleeping and missing a team meeting should. This team is not getting it.

Before I go one word further: I write this next not out of anger or disgust, but out of a profound sadness that a team this talented could play this badly.

Before this season got started, I predicted that the Capitals would win the Stanley Cup. The talent is certainly still there for that, but the effort, clearly, is not there at this point.

Being diplomatic isn’t working, so I’m going to be blunt.

Those fools have absolutely no idea how lucky they are. And the rank ingratitude that is on full display, from the top to the bottom of the roster, is the stuff of which severe spiritual consequences are made. Never mind the hockey: at this rate, I’m beginning to have serious concerns for the players’ well-being off the ice.

Because they evidently don’t know how good they’ve got it. Not to get too current-events-y here, but with the economy this bad, unemployment this high, gas and food prices on the rise, and hard times being felt all across America, those ingrates out to be ashamed that they’re being paid more money than some Americans will see in their lives, to play a game, and yet go through the motions like they don’t give a rat’s ass.

Professional athletes sometimes get a bad rap for making a lot of money for what is, essentially, entertainment, while less glamorous professions with more visible “worth” to those on the outside make less. I categorically reject the proposition that there is no worth in sports. Sports bring people together in ways other subjects do not; and most teams are doing much more in their communities than just walking onto the field of play, doing their jobs, and going home. If you think sports are meaningless, ask a business owner in downtown Baltimore how their summers have been going the last few years, now that the Orioles are perpetual doormats. For that matter, just look around Chinatown right here in DC. Sports matter, and they can also be a force for good, even if that good is a bit less apparent to outsiders.

That said, when athletes act so neglectfully on their chosen fields of play, that kind of “spoiled athletes” criticism is bound to come up. It has to, and frankly, it should.

Right now, there are more than eight million Americans who are settling for part-time work, because they can’t get full-time work. Nearly 5.9 million Americans have been out of work for more than six months. The Capitals? Under contract, thank you very much, and most of them would have little trouble finding work elsewhere should their services be dispensed with in Washington.

Those men are some of the luckiest men alive, but they play as if they couldn’t care less. That sort of ingratitude has consequences which go beyond merely what you can see, hear, smell, taste, and touch. Which is to say, there are spiritual consequences that can come of this.

But there are some very mundane consequences which need to take place forthwith.

I doubt I’m the first to propose either of these next two ideas, but here are my takes on them.

Should Ovechkin be stripped of his captaincy?
My take: Ovechkin arguably hasn’t been leading by example. Seeing his team fall behind by more than one goal ought to be getting #8 so single-mindedly incensed that he should be giving opposing netminders a sunburn for all the red lights behind them. It’s just not happening.

Now, there could be any number of reasons for this. In his defense, one can argue that perhaps Ovechkin is trying too hard to single-handedly save his team; that perhaps he’s taking the team’s failures as his own personal failures, is quietly suffering behind the scenes as a result, and it’s dragging down his game; and so on. Ovechkin knows that as long as he’s got the C, the Caps are his team. And I think he cares about the team’s results so much that that may be what’s got him off his game.

Ovechkin has said, several times, that the only honors he wants are team honors: gold medals for Russia, Stanley Cups (that’s plural for a reason!) for the Capitals. I’m not so sure he’s worried about his personal numbers at this point. More than likely, he’s seeing his team in a tailspin, and that is what’s contributing to his “Alexander the Pretty Good” level of play as of late.

But it’s because of that care level, that I think he should consider relinquishing the C. Perhaps, if he no longer has to worry about the entire team as a whole, he can focus on once again being “Alexander the Gr8.” The Capitals won’t go very far anytime soon if Ovechkin isn’t playing like the superstar the Capitals are paying him to be.

Perhaps it’s time for Ovechkin to engage in some Randian selfishness. Perhaps, if he were turned loose to be the great individual player that history has shown him to be, then he and the team might both end up the better for it.

Granted, it wouldn’t be quite as historic if we one day heard Gary Bettman saying, for instance, “Jeff Halpern, come get the Stanley Cup.” But who gets to be first to lift the Stanley Cup is immaterial if the Caps can’t win it to begin with. And whether or not they can do that, my September guess notwithstanding, looks like it’s starting to go from “probable” to “questionable.”

Bottom line: I think everyone–players, coaches, front office, and not the least Ovechkin himself–needs to consider very carefully whether or not his continued captaincy serves the best interests of all concerned, not the least of which being Ovechkin’s interests. Can he lead this team? Or are the extra leadership duties becoming such a burden that they now need to be rested on other, less vexed, shoulders? I want the Caps, and Mr. Ovechkin, to do what’s right for all concerned here; they know better than I do how this sort of decision will play out behind the scenes. But if giving away the C would get Ovechkin back in Art Ross form, and the team as a whole in President’s Trophy form, then perhaps Ovechkin may need to step down–for both his own good, and the good of the team. If, despite the public doubts and questioning he’s been receiving of late, he retains the C, his performance must improve. Must.

Should Bruce Boudreau be fired?
My take: The answer is not as simple as my snapshot postgame tweet.

This, frankly, is an excruciating question, one that has no easy answer. Up until now, Coach Boudreau has won championships at every level at which he’s coached. He’s gotten to 200 career NHL wins in almost historically short order, and he’s got a Jack Adams trophy on his mantel for a reason. Simply put, Bruce Boudreau knows how to win hockey games.

But the question that has to be asked is, Can he win the games that matter, with the players he now has?

We know the players have enough talent to win important games. We also know that Coach Boudreau has a history of winning important games.

But can they do so together? Can this coach lead these players, and can these players follow this coach?

It’s beginning to look less and less likely. If a bag skate isn’t enough to motivate his players, what else can he do? Has Coach Boudreau simply run out of cards to play at this point?

I would hope not, and nothing would make me happier than to see Coach Boudreau figure out which metaphorical buttons to push, to get the Capitals playing like the championship-caliber team he’s shown he knows how to coach, to right the ship, and to be handed the Stanley Cup by one of the Capitals when it’s all said and done.

But is that possible?

That’s something that can’t be answered by a spare-time hockey blogger with a complete lack of hockey fashion sense: that really does have to be addressed internally. Perhaps Coach Boudreau really can right the ship; then, we can look back at the end of this season and say that this stretch didn’t kill him, so it made him stronger.

Coaches shouldn’t be dismissed for transient reasons. Even more so, coaches with winning records with their teams. Even further so, coaches who’ve guided their teams to record finishes. Even beyond that, coaches who’ve won multiple consecutive division titles. Coach Boudreau has done a lot of winning here in Washington. One month ago to the day of the Buffalo game, the Capitals were the last undefeated team in the NHL at 7-0-0. Just over three weeks ago, the Capitals’ record stood at 10-2-0. Yes, it’s fallen drastically in the past 22 days, but should a horrible three weeks suddenly mean the end of four very good years of Capitals hockey?

The bottom line: The more I think about this, the more I think Coach Boudreau needs to be given a few more games to see what strategies he’s got left. But if mid-December gets here, and the Caps are still losing, then perhaps these players and this coach really don’t match, and it may be time to thank Coach Boudreau for his services and part ways. I certainly wouldn’t want to be the bench boss that has to coach against him if he’s ever on the visitor’s bench at Verizon Center. So, in my view, give him a little more time; just not so much that the season is beyond recovery.

Of note, the Capitals have announced that the next practice will be Monday. I’ll be keeping an eye on washingtoncaps.com on Sunday, I guess.

This losing cannot, and must not, continue. Whatever the Caps need to do, they need to make it stop. Now.

CAPITAL SPIRIT
ENOUGH IS TOO MUCH

On the Metro ride home, I was mentally drafting something which probably would have ended up being the best post I would have regretted all season. But by the time I was finally home, I just couldn’t write. At all. I put a couple of tweets up, collapsed in bed, and stared at the ceiling. I was literally in tears. I have no idea why, but that one loss just hit me in an emotional soft spot, and there was nothing I could do but weep. And stare at the ceiling. And weep. And stare at the ceiling. Rinse and repeat, for a couple of hours straight.

At some point around half past one in the morning, I finally had to get out of bed to get some water. I drank the water, grabbed my cell, and fired something off on Twitter (check my feed, I’m not making this up.)

Then it was back to staring at the ceiling, and crying. I think I finally got some semblance of sleep around 3 in the morning.

All the while, there was one thought I kept coming back to, time and time again: Don’t they see?

Before I get too far into this, a note on style for this post (and only this post). I’m going to be calling the team in the red sweaters last night a lot of different things, but “Washington Capitals” will not be one of them. And that’s because those impersonators who borrowed the home dressing room last night were not the Washington Capitals, at least as I believe them to be.

No, I’m not trying to come up with an “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” scenario here, nor am I going to seriously propose that it was Others of whatever sort which somehow prevented the real Washington Capitals from showing up. Ovechkin was Ovechkin, Erskine was Erskine, and so on throughout the roster. Physically, yeah, that was the Capitals, all right.

But spiritually, it was anyone but. That bunch who purported to represent Washington last night played one of the most half-baked, half-willed, half-numb, half-finished, half-awake, half-done, half-minded, half-witted, half-formed, half-hearted, half-jelled, half-serious, half-dead, half-cocked, half-assed hockey game I have ever been present to witness.

Now, if you’re looking for an LBJ-esque “I have lost Walter Cronkite” moment, I’m afraid I’m going to have to disappoint you. Did I take last night’s loss hard? Absolutely. Am I going to love the Capitals any less? No…because, again, that wasn’t the Washington Capitals (as I understand them) who lost that game. That group of mountebanks was completely bereft of Capitals-ness.

Mike Knuble, God bless him, called it like he saw it (and in color) after the game. The man’s old enough to remember hockey on the Intellivision, so he’s more than likely seen it all by now. The short version: these guys don’t get it yet.

Perhaps I think too highly of the Capitals, but I would have thought coming into the season that getting swept in the playoffs might have taught them a thing or two. After last night, I have to wonder.

Don’t they see?

Washington, DC, has not won a championship in one of the four major sports in a generation. (DC United, your victories are noted, but with all due respect, soccer’s still not considered a major sport in the US.) The Wizards are a few years from being a title threat, and that’s AFTER the NBA settles its labor dispute. The Redskins keep finding ever more creative ways to disappoint. The Nationals could be good, and sooner rather than later, but it’s still a little too soon to buy October baseball tickets in this town. Right now, the Washington Capitals are arguably the best team in DC. This city is thirsting for a champion to call its own. And right now, our most hopeful champions are the Washington Capitals. Right now, they carry the championship hopes and dreams of this entire city.

Don’t they see?

When I take my usual pregame walk around Verizon Center, I see a lot of kids on the concourse. Late thirties sometimes has a way of forgetting the joie de la jeunesse, but the smiles and excitement of the younger fans is unmistakeable. How many of those red-clad kids on the Verizon Center concourse would have the memory of a lifetime if the Capitals got to skate the Stanley Cup? How many of them, years from now, might be inspired by a Capitals Stanley Cup to go that second mile, in some as-yet undefined endeavor, to make the world a better place? The Washington Capitals, right now, have what it takes to bring a lifetime of memories, and maybe even a higher inspiration, to so many young people in this area.

Don’t they see?

I read the news–perhaps too much–and what Main Street thinks of both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue is alarming. According to a recent Rasmussen survey, only 20% of Americans believe that the US Government, as it stands, has the consent of the governed. 63% say it doesn’t; 17% aren’t sure. That’s three in five Americans who think the government does not have the consent of the governed. If that’s your mindset, you’re going to see Washington as the bad guys. The Capitals, however, are not the bad guys. From Brooks Laich’s famous tire change, to John Carlson’s gold-medal winning goal for the United States on the international stage not long ago, to the five nations’ worth of teamwork, to Courage Caps, to Salute to the Troops, and all the way up to the owner who pretty much invented “filmanthropy,” there is a lot of good being done by this organization and its players. (And I haven’t even mentioned Caps Care yet!) The Washington Capitals have a chance to show all of America that doing what’s good and what’s right can bring ultimate rewards…even in a place as widely distrusted as Washington.

Don’t they see?

There are a lot of long-time Capitals fans who have been waiting for many, many years, to see this team skate what’s arguably the most well-known trophy in North American sports. I’m not sure how many sports fans could name the Commissioner’s Trophy. Basketball die-hards might know the name “Naismith Memorial Trophy” offhand. And I suppose there are enough football fans out there that you might get a good percentage who know the Vincent Lombardi Trophy. But you don’t have to be a hockey fan to know the name “Stanley Cup.” And if you are a hockey fan, then that 35 pounds of silver might as well be the Ark of the Covenant for how sacred it is. Too many hockey fans in Washington have been here too long, and seen too much coulda-woulda-shoulda-didn’t, for those charlatans in the red sweaters last night to go out there and stink up the joint. Don’t those guys realize that there has been too much disappointment in this town, to just mail it in?

Don’t they see?

Don’t those guys realize that there are fans out here who want nothing more than to see them succeed? Don’t they know that we invest a lot of our time and money to come down to Verizon Center and see them give the best that they’ve got, and not a single effort less? Don’t they understand that there are fans out here who care deeply about them, and about the team as a whole? Don’t they recognize the passionate fans out here who invest not just our time and treasure, but our spirit and emotions as well? And don’t they grasp how painful it can be for some of us, to see them just mail it in?

Don’t they see?

Verizon Center has become the place to be for Capitals games: it’s loud, it’s intimidating, and it’s becoming a terrific hockey arena. But did anyone tell last night’s replacements that sellouts, loud support, a minimum contingent of visiting fans, and an all-red dress code are by no means guaranteed? Fans in Washington will not long suffer a team that always teases in the regular season, but never pleases in the playoffs. Oh, sure, there are going to be some fans who are going to stay through thick and thin. But it was not that long ago that Verizon Center was hosting Dress Like a Seat Night on a regular basis. Some of the long-time Capitals–Ovechkin and Halpern in particular–ought to remember how pin-drop quiet Verizon Center could get when fans were too numbed by the pain of a rebuild to care that much about cheering them on. The attendance for the first Capitals game I ever attended was barely in five figures (and that number was tickets sold, not fannies in the seats.) The idea of going back to a half-empty house ought to be frightening to some of the players now on the roster.

Don’t they see?

I know it’s a bad idea to believe your press clippings, but ignoring them outright is just as big a mistake. Did none of last night’s loafers see the pre-season predictions–from the experts all the way down to spare-timers like me? Don’t they understand how good they really are–that they have what it takes, right now, to win the Stanley Cup, if all they’ll do is work for it? Don’t they know that teams like this don’t come along every day, and that being on a contender is a gift that can be taken away at any time? Don’t they comprehend how golden of an opportunity that they have with this year’s edition of the Washington Capitals? Don’t they grasp how close they could be, to being Stanley Cup Champions? Don’t they understand that this may be the best chance they’ll ever have, in their entire lives, to be champions? And don’t they get that if this team doesn’t succeed, this year, that this kind of an opportunity may be lost to them, forever?

Don’t they see?

Why, exactly, do those guys insist on playing like Just Another Team? Just Another Team ultimately means just another bunch of losers. Just Another Team means you don’t stand out. Just Another Team means you have no identity of your own. Why couldn’t those guys in the red sweaters last night play like the Washington Capitals? No…not just the Washington Capitals, but the same Washington Capitals that their most passionate fans believe them all to be, right now? Don’t those guys understand that there are a lot of us out here, right now, who sincerely believe that they have all they need, right now, to be the best hockey team this town has ever known?

Don’t they see?

It literally pains me, to see a team that I love so much, play like a team that I believe it isn’t, and a team that it should never be.

I hope that whatever adjustments are needed, are made. I have to think there will be coaching adjustments, but what I would be happiest to observe in the weeks and months ahead, would be attitude adjustments.

Don’t those guys grasp how good they are, how good they can be, and how good their fans think they are? And if so, when will they play like it? Don’t they know what it ultimately means to be a Washington Capital?

Don’t they see?

CAPITAL SPIRIT
EXHAUSTED

When the Caps hold the Red Wings to 1-for-2 in 5-on-3 situations, and oh-fer everything else, I think it’s safe to say they played a damn fine game.

How did all those Red Wings fans get in the building? I’m just asking…

One of the Caps sales reps was asking me if I did a reading before the game, and I said that I hadn’t. He asked for one, and I drew the 10 of Pentacles. The 10 of Pentacles usually indicates fortune. A 7-1 whuppin’ of the best of the West sure sounds like fortune to me.

That game might have been the biggest thumpin’ to take place in DC since the 2010 congressional election.

Mike Green took a puck to the melon and ended up with a 4-point night. Now, that is hockey tough. Toward the end of the 3rd, with the game essentially over, he was open at the blue line, and it looked like he and the Detroit guy in front of him were playing chicken there for a couple of seconds. “Hat trick?” “Block?” “Double-dog dare ya…” That’s what it looked like, at least, and I thought that was kind of amusing.

Perreault was playing like he never wants to ride a bus to an away game ever again. He’s certainly going to have to work for it–he’s the shortest guy on the roster, and he might weigh 200 pounds if you covered him in mud–but when he’s going, he is GOING. Two red lights is a very good night at the office for #85.

Tomas Vokoun is playing like he wants a long-term contract with the Caps. If he keeps playing like this all year, he’d better pay for George McPhee’s resultant Nexium prescription while he’s at it.

Said it before, will say it again: enjoy the run, long may it last, great to be the #1 team in the league and all that, but this whole run will be a curiosity if the Caps get stopped before the Conference Finals.

And I have to think that expectations just inched up a bit higher after tonight. While the expectation coming in this year was almost Stanley Cup or bust, a game like this is going to raise that expectation even higher, if that’s even possible. Taking a powerhouse team like Detroit to the woodshed shows how good this team really is. And while the Wings did have a game Friday night against a division rival, you can only credit so much of the Caps’ success to fatigue on the visitors’ part. No, the Caps really were that good tonight. And if they’re this good in October against an elite squad like Detroit, they’ve now GOT to follow that up in April and May with similar command performances. I suspect they would have done so anyway, but after a romp like tonight, there can be no excuses next spring. None, zero, zip, zilch, nada, nix, nought, zot.

I’m still trying to figure out why Howard got the start against Columbus, and Conklin got the nod against the Caps. I know division games matter, but if any team in the Central is beatable by a backup, it’s the Jackets. Can someone explain why Detroit started their #1 goalie against a team that had yet to win a game, while saving their backup for the team that had yet to lose a game? On the surface, that makes less sense than all the track work that Metro is doing this weekend.

Every skater for the Caps was a plus tonight. Every. Single. One. When was the last time that happened? I’m just asking…

Meanwhile, the Caps have several days off, while second-place Pittsburgh has a home-and-home with the Islanders. The 3-3-0 Islanders. While the Islanders aren’t the doormat of the East this year–that’s probably going to end up being Winnipeg, given their brutal travel schedule–I still think it may be hoping a bit much of the blue and orange to beat Pittsburgh twice to keep us in first. Divisional game, though, so you never know. And the Penguins have already got ten games under their belts, so they might be slightly the worse for wear. In fact, Sunday and Monday are the first time this season that the Penguins are going to have more than one day between games, and they’ve even had to deal with two back-to-backs on top of that. So…maybe the Caps might hang on to the 1 spot after all.

Next up for the Caps is a brief visit to the Northwest Division, against an upstart Oilers team on Thursday, followed by the reigning Western Conference champs, the Canucks. Ah, nightcaps…don’t ya love ‘em…

Speaking of nightcaps, I need to quit pulling one and wrap this post up.

Ah, it’s been a good night to be a Caps fan!

CAPITAL SPIRIT
THAT WAS SOME PARTY

The Capitals are off to their best start in franchise history, currently standing at 6-0-0 on the season. Their opponent for Saturday night’s contest is going to be the Detroit Red Wings, who will be hosting division rival Columbus on Friday night. Worse for the Wings, the game is a 7:30 start time, which is going to mean the game will let out around 10, 10:15 PM or so. Let’s assume an hour from game end to the plane getting off the ground, an hour and a half flight time, and thirty minutes from landing in DC to in their hotel beds. That would mean the Wings would be hitting the hay in DC at 1 AM or so, and if there are delays, that could be even later. Fatigue may be a factor for Detroit, especially if the Capitals play it smart and get some extra rest tonight.

And based on how the Caps performed against Florida a couple of games back–again, a back-to-back for the visitors, while the Caps had gotten good rest at home–one has to suspect the advantage may end up with the Caps, and that the home team will be skating out of Verizon Center with a 7-0-0 mark.

That would be no small feather in the Caps’ caps, to be sure, and I hope they do indeed run it up to lucky seven tomorrow night.

That said, a 7-0-0 start to October would be a footnote if my prediction is off and the Caps disappoint again this spring. I think they’ll win it all, and quite honestly, however long this streak continues, it would simply make a great opening chapter to the story of the season if the Caps are indeed victorious this year. If not, the current run of good fortune will be but a footnote.

I’m reminded of the Buddhist tradition of creating elaborate sculptures out of butter. Symbolically, the butter represents how transitory life is: it’s beautiful, yes, but only for a little while. Eventually, it will melt away. Such is the human condition: the elaborate sculptures we make of our lives are, in cosmic terms, only temporary. As fleeting as a butter sculpture is when compared to humanity, such is humanity when compared to the eternal.

Let us compare a win streak to the design of a sculpture, and the time of year to the material in which it is sculpted.

The value–the permanence, if you like–of a win streak in hockey depends in large part on when it takes place. Winning four in a row is a nice lift in November; in June, it’s immortality. Thus, the later in the season it gets, the more permanent the material. So, a win streak in June we could equate to a sculpture carved in marble: hard, solid, and about as eternal as we mere mortals are capable of creating.

A win streak in October we could equate to a sculpture carved in butter: we can, and we should, admire the artistry inherent in its creation. However, we must bear in mind how momentary it is. 82-0 is only possible in video games and cell phone commercials. At some point, the Capitals will lose a game. At some point, they will likely lose more than one in a row. I’d love to be wrong here, and I’m not trying to jinx it here, but let’s be realistic. Just as an Ovechtrick is nothing more than a funny concept for a cell phone commercial, so to are the Capitals not going to have an 82-0 season. I’d love to be wrong on both of those, don’t get me wrong, but come on: those commercials only worked because everyone knew how outlandish the concepts were.

But getting back to my main point: unless the Capitals do what I predicted they’d do this year–i.e., win the Stanley Cup–then the team’s current good fortunes will be little more than a curious stat line in a future Capitals media guide. Again, a sculpture of butter, it being October. But if the Capitals do carve their legacy in the permanent marble of a championship, then the current streak will add even further detail to the finished work.

One does not set out to do a 1:1 scale replica of Michelangelo’s David in butter, and then put it straight outside in Las Vegas in July. Let’s be grateful for the Caps’ winning streak while it lasts, certainly, but we do need to remember that early wins–even in bunches–won’t long be remembered when the season of more permanent media rolls around. Doing David 1:1 in butter means nothing if the best the Caps have for “marble season” is a 2-inch chess piece.

Not that I anticipate that by any means. My point is that we shouldn’t think that coming out of the gate like gangbusters is going to mean anything permanent in and of itself. It won’t. If the Caps manage a masterwork in marble, however, we can look back on October and say that we were happy to see the storybook ending get started with a terrific opening chapter.

All that having been said, however, there is good reason to be quite pleased indeed with the Caps’ opening streak. It involves a bit of math, however, so if numbers aren’t your cup of tea, well, grab a Red Bull for this next part.

For those of you who do have a knack for numbers, follow me on this. The Capitals still have 164 points available to them. Losing games means you can’t score as many points; and when 8 other teams have scored more points than you can possibly earn, then you’re officially playing out the string at that point. Winning games keeps those maximum possible points in play; the more you win, the more leeway you have down the stretch. Also, being out in front of the pack makes you more of a master of your own fate. If you’re losing, then more wins by teams ahead of you that already HAVE more wins, means you could be out of the hunt even if you DO make a Cinderella run.

So from the standpoint of getting into the playoffs–which is all the regular season is about, anyway–racking up a lot of wins means you have more wiggle room in the event of a skid (or another team catching fire). Did-wins in October can ultimately translate into fewer should-wins and must-wins in February and March. Given a choice between:

a) starting very well, having lots of points to give, and having unforeseen trouble in the stretch; or
b) starting off merely okay, and having a great team in the stretch that’s got no margin for error;

I’ll take a great start any season.

In the end, it’s definitely a good thing to have a terrific opening run, and long may the Caps’ current winning streak last. But a season-opening streak requires perspective. I’m happy to see the team winning, absolutely; all Caps fans should be, and far be it from me to argue with the Caps’ success. But let’s not get too high just yet: it is still October, after all. Admire and be happy for the team’s success, yes; stake out your sidewalk for the Stanley Cup victory parade, no. It’s a long season; it’s only getting started; and it’s still a long way to April, never mind June.

So Believe, certainly; show gratitude for the team’s success, absolutely; but don’t get carried away just yet. To everything there is a season; and October is not get-carried-away season. There’s lots of hockey left to play.

The first game of the rest of the season is Saturday night against Detroit. See you all at the rink.

CAPITAL SPIRIT
PATIENCE

Tomas Vokoun has been getting better and better since his debut, and tonight he was flawless. If he keeps up this trend, the other team may end up with a negative score or something.

I was wondering before the game if the Panthers could possibly have much left in the tank after hanging a 7 spot on the Bolts last night. And while it looked that way in the first period, something got said (or consumed) at the first intermission, because the Panthers came out guns blazing, which seemed to put the Caps back on their heels a bit. No harm, no foul, though–the Caps hung on in the middle stanza, and took care of business in the third.

Alex Semin’s wrist shot may be the sneakiest shot in the NHL. One second he launches what looks like a harmless little shot from somewhere near the concession stands, and the next, it’s bedlam as the lamp comes on.

How much perfection was there tonight? Well, the Caps are 5-0-0 (perfect record), after getting a shutout (perfect goaltending). They were obviously perfect on the penalty kill (2 for 2, and against the league’s best PP unit, to boot), but they were also a perfect 1-for-1 on the power play (for what it’s worth, referees Furlatt and St. Laurent pretty much let ‘em play tonight, doling out an aggregate ten PIMs combined for the entire contest.) So, four different flavors of perfect on one night. I like it.

What I didn’t like was the number of close-but-no-panatella moments served up by the Capitals. Remember that scene in The Matrix where Morpheus tells Neo, “Stop trying to hit me and hit me”? There was a point in the second where I just had to holler down, “Stop trying to score and SCORE!” If some of those nifty plays had worked, the Caps would have won by a touchdown, not just a field goal.

Jack Skille’s antics in the second were not appreciated. There was a Greyhound bus leaving for San Antonio at 10:55 tonight, and I hope Skille was under it.

There’s no such thing as an easy shutout, but the Caps pretty much made it look easy. And when it looks easy, that’s usually a sign the players are playing hard. I could probably count on one hand the number of times the Caps got bottled up in their end of the rink and were having trouble getting out. Now, THAT is a step in the right direction for the defense. A huge Bravo Zulu to the blue line corps tonight.

How does “Your first place in the NHL Washington Capitals” sound? I know it’s October, but I think it sounds just fine, myself. Now, would that we could be saying the same next June.

I know those green-shirted shutterbugs on the concourse are working on quota, but does every single one of them need me to pose? There are other fans who are much more likely to buy those, prints, and not just take up space on the roll.

Speaking of shutterbugs, I have no idea who that cute little kid was who came running up to me and gave me a hug, and then asked for a picture, but she totally made my night, and that was before warmups even got started. I sure hope the picture came out okay.

No need to stop at five wins, especially with a visit to the City of Brotherly Shove coming up two nights hence. How long can the Caps keep this up? We shall see!

CAPITAL SPIRIT
FIVE ALIVE…NOW CAN THEY GET THEIR KICKS WITH WIN NUMBER SIX?