This season is supposed to be different for the Washington Capitals, who open at Verizon Center on Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes. This season is not supposed to end in an embarrassing early playoff exit.
This season the most talented team on the ice during the regular season is not expected to fold in the playoffs.
This season, with the additions of veterans like goaltender Tomas Vokoun, defenseman Roman Hamrlik and forwards Joel Ward, Troy Brouwer and the returning Jeff Halpern, the talented corps of Alex Ovechkin and Co. will not be allowed to disappear in the playoffs.
Stop me if you’ve heard variations on this theme before.
Truth is, this October seems to be no different for the Caps than last October, which followed an embarrassing first-round loss to the eighth-seeded Montreal Canadiens.
Following that defeat, last season was supposed to be different. Only it ended in a nearly equally embarrassing four-game sweep by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round.
So here we are, another October when Caps fans again have to wait seven months to get the answers they want. It’s a tough spot for Washington hockey fans.
Here you have a first-class organization with an admired owner in Ted Leonsis and a beloved coach in Bruce Boudreau that over the past two regular seasons has played the best hockey in the NHL. You have a superstar athlete in Ovechkin. You have a franchise that wins in a town surrounded by losers and a rocking, fun atmosphere night in and night out at Verizon Center.
There’s nothing like being a Caps fan from October to April. It’s great.
But it’s not enough.
No regular season is more meaningless in sports than the NHL. It borders on one long exhibition season leading up to the revered Stanley Cup playoffs.
This is the challenge going into the 2011-2012 NHL season for the organization and its fans. Can you separate the two — regular season and playoffs — and enjoy the success of one enough to overcome the frustration of another?
Perhaps it is a dilemma that will take care of itself this season. You have to believe that sooner or later the talent of the Caps will trump the playoff dysfunction and this team will produce a playoff performance its fans can be proud of — an Eastern Conference finals appearance, at the very least.
At least fans will enjoy the view.
The Caps quickly abandoned the white protective netting they had put up at Verizon Center and went back to the old black netting.
“It hinders the fan experience,” Leonsis wrote in his blog in response to complaints.
So do early playoff exits.
Examiner columnist Thom Loverro is the co-host of “The Sports Fix” from noon to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on ESPN980 and espn980.com. Contact him at [email protected].
