The Caps Winning The Stanley Cup Has Killed DC Fandom

What are DC Sports Fans supposed to do now?  The Capitals historic win on Thursday Night eradicated all of what being a fan of DC Sports is all about.  Pain.  Misery.  Self Loathing.  Getting high off of crazy preseason optimism knowing that it will all come crashing down in some horrible self fulfilling prophecy in the playoffs.  Doing simple arithmetic to show others how you have never seen, or were too young to remember, a professional championship in DC.  All of that is gone now.  What is left is something that will define the type of fan base this city truly has and whether it is ready to support sports teams through genuine fandom, or if their support only goes as far as frenzied feelings of FOMO.

DC Fans seemed to take the frivolous statement from Michael Wilbon, that Washington DC was a "minor league sports town", a little too much to heart, and they were a little too quick to point to the outpouring of fans at the Caps viewing party Thursday night as evidence to the contrary.  While it was amazing to see how many people came out to support the Caps, many of those people were there to be a part of the scene rather than show their enduring support for a team they have cheered for for years.  Stories were abound about how these Stanley Cup Playoff Games were the first hockey games that a lot of these people watched, and they went down to Capital One Arena on Thursday simply because they did not want to miss out on the festivities.  But winning a championship does not instantaneously turn these people into regular fans.  Just ask the Carolina Hurricanes how many interlopers from their 2006 Stanley Cup Championship are still there.  Or look at the Miami Marlins, who would kill for a quarter of the people who jumped on their bandwagon in 1997 and 2003 to still be there today.  DC Sports fans now find themselves in a similar situation.  The Capitals have drawn in multitudes of fans to their cause, but mostly due to fear of missing out on a social scene.  It will take more than that to prove Michael Wilbon wrong, and now it is time to see if DC Fandom truly has what it takes to foster a genuine "sports town" atmosphere.

The Capitals have removed the security blanket from DC Fans by winning the Stanley Cup.  For so long the narrative has been that it is hard to develop a genuine sports culture in DC because of so much ineptitude, impotence, and playoff tragedies galore from all the DC professional sports teams.  Most of that has been washed away by the Capitals victory on Thursday night.  Fans were witness to a team that was intelligently put together and mentored throughout the season.  They saw the likes of Max Scherzer, Ryan Zimmerman, and Derrius Guice show their support for the Caps on their run to the Cup.  The teams are doing all they can to create a unified sense among all the different teams and superstars, and now they have at least one championship to show for this shared unity.  It is now on the fans of Washington DC to show that they will show long term support for a team like the Capitals because they love the sport, and not because they love the number of Instagram likes they get when they post stuff with #ALLCAPS.  DC Fans now must show that they can evolve from a fan base of self loathing to one that can legitimately support their teams by watching games and becoming informed fans, and not just jump on every time a championship rolls around.  The Capitals have put the onus on DC Fans to prove that this city can be more than an event driven town that fluctuates based on the level of attention each sport will bring to the individual.  DC fans need to show that this city can be one with an informed fan base that will continue to grow in mass no matter what time of year it is.  If this does not happen, then maybe DC is just a minor league sports town, but we know now that it is not because of the nature of the teams.  It is the nature of the fans.  

The Capitals Exposed the Golden Knights

As Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals looms on the horizon, there are still some people who continue the narrative that the Golden Knights are the literal incarnation of the cosplay character that adorns their home pregame festivities.  But that Golden Knight is just a guy in a suit, and the Las Vegas Golden Knights unfortunately have to play a real hockey game against a team that showed they are not afraid of the tall tales that have vaulted Vegas into an almost mythic realm.  Washington's win in Game 2 very subtly exposed some of the weaknesses in the Las Vegas's style of play, and it showed that the Capitals have the ability to match the one thing that makes the Legend of the Las Vegas Golden Knights live.  Relentlessness.

All the Golden Knights have going for them is they are relentless.  Nothing else.  This relentlessness is predicated on a few misinterpreted qualities that have been attributed to them throughout the playoffs that the Capitals exposed as dubious in Game 2.  

First, Vegas is not fast.  They are quick.  The Golden Knights are quick in short spaces which allows them to close the distance to the puck better than the other team and cause discomfort in their opponents when they are trying to exit their defensive zone.  Their speed is questionable, however, due to the Capitals dominating them in odd man rushes in Game 2.  If the Knights are so "fast" how can they let those odd man rushes be so lop sided?  It is because The Golden Knights are not fast in the open ice, they are quick to hound the puck within smaller zones.  Their overly zealous forecheck leaves the susceptible to teams getting behind them in transition and the Capitals exploited that in Game 2.

Second, Vegas's lines are all second line quality, except they lack the skill necessary to play under a controlled pace.  Watch the 4v4 play from Game 2.  Everyone was expecting the Knights to run the Caps with more open ice in 4v4 but that was not the case.  Vegas backed off on their relentless forecheck that allowed the Capitals more breathing room in their exits out of the defensive zone, and when the Knights tried to get aggressive in 4v4 play it led to a wide open goal by Lars Eller.  The Capitals also exposed this lack of skill when they went down 5v3.  The Knights looked lost when they actually had to create plays that require deft passing and the time to develop open shots, and their lack of high quality scoring chances with a 1:09 5v3 advantage shows that their lines lack the skill to play in a controlled environment.  If they cannot generate quick chances off of their forecheck, which they are very good at, then their offense seems to sputter and the Capitals exposed that fact in Game 2.

Finally, the notion that Vegas's zeal could not be replicated (or that Washington's could not get any greater) is a crock.  The Golden Knights are seeing that the Capitals can match the vigor with which they play, and the Capitals add an extra piece of perseverance to the table that Vegas seems ill equipped to handle.  The Capitals are proving that their journey through the Eastern Conference Playoffs has prepared them for the relentless style of play that the Golden Knights bring, and that they will not be bullied by a team of lower ability and skill.  Vegas's success is predicated on the notion that their relentlessness will eventually wear the other team down to the point where they will make a mistake, but the Capitals showed that they can overcome that style of play and counter with a type of play that the Golden Knights cannot match.  It remains to be seen who comes out on top, but the Capitals have shown that the Golden Knights are no better than any other show in Las Vegas.

Ovechkin's Legend Continues To Grow

Very few fan bases get to witness a legend being made right before their eyes.  Even fewer get to see that happen to someone who has already established themselves as one of the greatest players to ever play their sport, but that is what Capitals fans have witnessed over the last two playoff series.  Alex Ovechkin continued his march out of his stat compiler purgatory on Wednesday Night by winning a Game 7 on the road to win the Eastern Conference Championship.  That win caused a frenzied scene in DC that was a personification of the frustration that DC Sports Fans have felt over the last 25 years without cheering for a team in a championship capacity.  DC fans, though, should not see Ovechkin's feats this year in the playoffs as merely a necessary means to break an arbitrary curse.  They should appreciate it for what it is; one of the greatest players of his generation finally getting the chance to fulfill his destiny in a Washington Capitals uniform.  Few fan bases get to see something like this because it is not the normal way that sports legends are made.

When a player gets drafted to be the savior of a franchise it usually does not take them as long, or go through as arduous of a career, as Alex Ovechkin has to make good on that promise.  Usually the savior comes in and within 5-8 years they lead their team into a position to win a championship.  Look at Jordan, Lebron, Gretzky, Bonds, Kobe, Crosby (sorry Caps fans, but its true), or Peyton Manning.  These greats had early growing pains, but within a short time frame they were able to lead their teams to the championship rounds, and most of them were able to win it all.  Even stat mongers like Dan Marino and Karl Malone were able to get to the gates of promised land early on, even if they were never able to finish the job. Capitals fans, though, are watching a unique career arc that has made this Stanley Cup berth all the more special.  For twelve years Alex Ovechkin has garnered numerous individual accolades without even having a chance to compete for a Conference Championship.  He has had to persevere through numerous coaching changes, accusations of lax work ethic, yearnings from the fan base to trade him from Washington, and countless epithets about  how his time to win a championship had passed.  He now finds himself with a new centerpiece for his dining room table and chance to give Caps fans a storied career that no other fan base has witnessed.

This blog has written about Alex Ovechkin's championship futility time and again, and what it means for his place in the annals of DC Sports History.  If Ovechkin is able to win the Stanley Cup this year it will solidify him as the greatest athlete the DC area has ever seen.  Ovechkin has become one of the greatest goal scorers of all time, and he has taken a niche franchise and made it the toast of the town.  Even the Redskins are taking a back seat for the next two weeks as the Capitals try to bring the first professional championship to Washington DC in a quarter century.  Ovechkin has ignited the entire city, and he has drawn even the most novice of DC Sports fan into the Capitals' orbit through his perseverance through adversity.  No other major sports figure played 12 years in the same city and fought through countless write offs to finally deliver their fan base from misery.  Now he has the chance to achieve a level of greatness that no other sports figure has attained within the DC area, and he could give DC Fans a storied career that is unique to the DC Fan experience.  As the Caps take the ice in Las Vegas on Monday Night, Caps fans should keep in mind that Ovechkin has already made them privy to a unique making of a hockey legend and bringing a Stanley Cup to Washington will make them witness to the crowning of the new king of DC Sports. 

With Every Caps Win, The Redskins Lose

The Capitals Game 1 win over the Lightning is undeniable proof to all DC Sports fans that this team has what it takes to possibly bring the greatest trophy in all of professional sports to the Nation's Capital.  It is also proof that Caps are winning over a new generation of DC Sports fans at the expense of the Washington Redskins.  The Redskins are king when it comes to drawing the attention of DC Sports fandom, but for the first time their hegemony over the DC Sports landscape is under serious threat from a single entity.  The Washington Capitals have stolen the show this spring as they ended Washington's Conference Finals drought, and with every successive victory the Caps win over another portion of the fan base that has become disillusioned with the product coming out of Ashburn, Virginia.  The Capitals are winning over fans in all facets of the fan experience while the Redskins continue to rest on their laurels, and it begins with the team the Capitals have put together this season.

Everyone loves a winner, and the Capitals have certainly proven they can win, but people love a winner even more when they do it with resilience.  The Capitals have been one of the best teams in the NHL over the last decade when it comes to winning in the regular season, but those teams were more high flying flashy type teams that wilted under pressure.  The Caps this season have been more gritty.  No one expected them to do much, and yet they find themselves three wins away from playing for the Stanley Cup because they have proactively persevered through adversity.  They won the toughest division in the NHL this season.  They came back from down 2-0 in the First Round to beat the Blue Jackets.  They finally vanquished their nemesis without three of their top players playing for a majority of the series, and winning Game 6 on the road.  They won Game 1 against Tampa in a convincing fashion which no one thought possible.  The Capitals are winning with heart, but when was the last time that was said about any Redskins team?  RG3's rookie year?  Cousins' first year as a starter?  It is hard to remember a Redskins team that was called gritty or resilient, and no Redskins team has done that and reached the level the Caps have this season.  The Capitals are winning over fans by the level at which they play and the level they have reached in the playoffs, but signs of the Capitals take over of the Redskins' territory can also be seen in the fan experience over the past decade.

Forbes Magazine does an annual valuation of all professional sports teams, and a look at the Redskins and Capitals current value show signs that the Capitals are making headway into taking over a larger part of the DC Fan Base.  The Redskins are obviously worth more than the Caps in absolute value, but the Capitals have outstripped the Redskins in growth rate within the DC market.  Half of the Redskins value (54.5%) comes from the NFL revenue share, while only 19.9% can be attributed to market size and 7.3% can be attributed to their brand.  The last two percentages may be good indicators of how well a team markets themselves within their own city, and if that is the case the Capitals once again outstrip the Redskins.  The Capitals market size value is 41.3%, which makes sense considering they do not have a rival in Baltimore to contend with, but the Caps' brand value is also higher at 12.8%.  Wouldn't it make sense for the Redskins to have a higher brand value when they need to compete with a team that is a 90 minute drive away?  These values show that the Capitals are doing more to endear themselves to the fan base through promotion and savvy marketing techniques, and that they are making more of an effort to reach out to fans to try and draw them in.  DC fans have responded by spending more money at Capital One Arena than Fed Ex Field. 

Forbes Magazine also gives the numbers for net stadium revenue for each team, and the lack of growth in the net stadium revenue of the Redskins since 2010 is staggering.  The Redskins have only seen a 36% increase in revenue since 2010, which is the worst in the NFL since that time and it is not even close.  The Colts are the next closest to that number with a 45.1% increase, and the only other teams to have below 50% revenue increases are the Buccaneers and Raiders.  So the Redskins have shown poor growth relative to other teams in their sport, and it has nothing to do with the large amount of money they already made.  The only NFL teams in 2010 to have $300 Million or more in revenue were the Redskins, the Patriots, and the Cowboys.  The Patriots have seen an 80.8% increase in revenue for obvious reasons, and the Cowboys have seen a 100% increase in revenue.  The Cowboys increase has less to do with winning, and more to do with a new stadium being opened, but that goes to the notion that the Redskins stadium experience sucks.  Redskins fans are unwilling to spend money on the team and it shows in the Redskins' lack of revenue growth.  Compare those numbers to the Capitals who have seen a 78% increase in revenue since 2010 and it is not hard to see that the Capitals are providing a better fan experience at their stadium that fans have responded to in a more positive light through spending more money at Capital One Arena.  In fact, the Capitals 78% growth is fourth best in the NHL behind the Penguins, the Kings, and the Predators.  The Penguins and Kings have both won Stanley Cups in that time frame, but the Predators growth should be an omen to the Redskins of what could happen if the Capitals can just make the Stanley Cup Final.

Last year the Predators made the Stanley Cup Finals and put Nashville into a state of euphoria with their catfish and stadium experience.  They did not win the Cup, but that run created an organic frenzied scene around the Predators that carried over into this season.  Nashville was hungry for a winner and the Predators delivered, and the Capitals find themselves in a similar situation.  A generation of DC Sports fans have come and gone without seeing a winner, and they are finally getting one with the 2017 Capitals.  While the Capitals have slowly changed the gravitational fields within the DC Sports landscape through relentless marketing and a positive stadium experience, a Stanley Cup appearance would permanently draw the interest of everyone living in the DC Area.  The Redskins would no longer be the automatic choice for kids who grow up in this area because the Capitals win, and win with a style and stadium experience the Redskins cannot duplicate.  The Redskins have already been losing fans to the Capitals over this decade, and with every successive Capitals victory this year they draw more fans to a product that has a more likable team, a better fan and stadium experience, and a winning tradition.  Seven more victories, and the Redskins will need to share the spotlight with the new kings of DC Sports.

The Caps Have Earned the Right to End the Curse

Be it in Game 6, or in Game 7, the Capitals need to be the team that cures the DC Sports Plague (Its not a curse, its a Plague).  It seems counter intuitive, but the Capitals have done everything they can in order to earn the right to be the team that breaks the misery that DC Sports fans have had to endure over the past two decades.  If the Capitals are able to finally make it to an Eastern Conference Final, and god forbid a Stanley Cup Final, they would ignite a DC Sports renaissance because of what they have come to symbolize for the DC Sports landscape.  The Capitals have embodied all that is good and bad about DC Sports over their decade of resurgence, and it is this cornucopia of characteristics that gives them the right to be the ones to end the malaise that all DC Sports Fans have been under since 1998.  The evidence for this argument falls within the answer to the question; Why are the Capitals more special than the other DC Sports teams?  Let's answer that question in all of it's facets.

Because they were the last DC Sports team to make it to a Conference Final
It would be poetic justice.  The last DC Sports team to make it to a Conference Final is the one that ends the plague (its not a curse, its a plague).  The Caps need to win because it would connect the current sports fandom to DC Sports history, and in these times the average sports fan is not tied into what happened more than three years ago.

Because Alex Ovechkin was the original Chosen One
Before Bryce Harper, before John Wall, before Stephen Strasburg, there was Alex Ovechkin.  Ovechkin was taken number one overall by the Capitals in 2004, and it was not just because the Capitals were awful.  They had given up all of their major pieces from that 1998 Stanley Cup Finals team, including the franchise's all time scoring leader Peter Bondra, in order to find themselves in the position to draft Alex Ovechkin. He was brought in to be the next coming, and he has fulfilled those obligations except for the one about team championships.  It is time that he gets the right to play for one.

Because the Capitals have given hope to DC over the past decade
While the Redskins sucked, while the Wizards were dealing with the Gilbert Arenas fallout, and while the Nationals were reminding Washington DC what baseball looked like, the Capitals were putting together consistent playoff teams.  The Capitals have made the playoffs every year since the 2007-2008 season except for one.  No other DC Sports team even comes close to that consistency, and along the way they have built up their fan base organically through winning and savvy marketing.  The Capitals have ingratiated themselves to a city that wanted a winner and a hip sports scene, and got it with the combination of Alex Ovechkin's play and Ted Leonsis's business acumen.

Because they stupidly traded away a superstar.
See Filip Forsberg.

Because they smartly traded for another.
See TJ Oshie.

Because they have endured a disappointment that no other DC Sports team has over the past 20 years
The Capitals were literally 1:41 away from defeating the New York Rangers in 2015 and going to the Eastern Conference Finals.  Instead, the Rangers won three games in a row to defeat the Caps in seven games.  In fact, the Caps have been eliminated from the playoffs in a Game 7 seven times since 2008.  No DC fan knows playoff pain like Capitals fans.

Because they have tried to build a team of immeasurable talent and failed
See 2017.  That team was hailed as the best team that had ever been assembled around Alex Ovechkin and they still could not get past the second round. 

Because in the after math of that collapse they came out stronger
This year was supposed to be a rebuilding year at best, and some were heralding it as the beginning of the end for the Ovechkin era.  But then something strange happened.  Somehow these players that no one thought could come close to the accomplishments of 2017's super team began to gel.  They pulled out tough games in the regular season.  They fought through adversity.  They gave Capitals fans something they have never seen before; a team that wins based on grit and determination more than talent level. 

That determination was on full display Saturday night as the Capitals defeated the Penguins 6-3 in classic 2018 Capitals fashion.  They fell behind early in the first period but took the lead late on a PPG and a successive hard working goal.  They subsequently squandered that lead in the second period by taking massive penalties, getting horribly out shot, and looking like they had given up on life.  But the Caps would not be deterred by those set backs, and like they have done all year, they found a way to win.  The Caps once again find themselves in a position to end 20 years of DC Sports misery, and the Capitals have earned the right to be the ones to cure this DC Sports Plague.  Twenty years of evolution has provided DC Fans with a sports team that has rarely been seen in Washington during that time. One that will not back down, that will not give up, that has been built organically to come to this point.  The Capitals need to be the ones to end DC Fans' misery on Monday Night.

In the Pens Series the Magic Number for the Caps is One

The collective thought process going through the Capitals fan base after Monday Night's series clinching win over the Blue Jackets was a sarcastic "Here we go again".  For the third straight year, the Capitals will face the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and Caps fans let the hockey world know how they feel about this match up the only way they know how to deal with their emotions.  Cynical passive aggressiveness.  Caps fans are inundating the DC Sports landscape with sayings like "Get ready for another Game 7 loss", "I guess the Pens win the cup again this year", and "We better win in 5 games, otherwise we are not winning the series".  Caps fans already resigned themselves to being disappointed once they saw that a black and gold 87 would be on the opposing side in the second round, but the fan base's cynicism is not without warrant.  The numbers for the Caps vs. Pens playoff history have been bandied about over the past 48 hours, and none really favor the Capitals (quick note: most of these numbers came from Pensburgh Blog.  Please check it out for a good history of this playoff match up).  The Capitals are 1-9 against the Pens all time in playoff series, yet they are 8-2 in Game 1 of those series and they blew a 2-0 series lead in 2009.  The Pens are 4-0 against the Caps in Game 7's, and they are 11-2 against the Caps in playoff overtime games.  Finally, in all five (yes, get depressed Caps fans, FIVE) of Pittsburgh's Stanley Cup Championship runs they have defeated the Capitals en route to the promised land.  All of these numbers equate to good reasons for Caps fans to be cynical about this upcoming match up, but there is only one number that should be coursing through the Capitals' mind right now.  One.

The number one should be on the Capitals' minds because for the first time in the playoffs it feels as if the Caps have that one thing, that one guy, that all Stanley Cup Contenders seem to have once the playoffs roll around.  They have that one hot goaltender who finds his stride come the playoffs.  They have that one guy who comes out of nowhere to make significant contributions no one saw coming (Chandler Stephenson).  They have that one guy everyone forgot was really good, and now is showing everyone why he is really good through playoff production (John Carlson).  They have that one line that seems to have "it" whenever they are on the ice, and one that can give production outside of the superstars on the team (Connolly-Eller-DSP).  They have that one guy who is not going to take shit from anybody and prove it by knocking heads and putting points on the board (Tom Wilson).  They have that one superstar who can come through in the clutch (Nick Backstrom).  They have the one superstar who has proven why he is the greatest in the most important game of the playoffs to date.  Finally, the Caps have that one thing that has been lacking in all other playoff runs this past decade.  Grit.  These Capitals have a sense about them this year that they will never give up.  It has been honed throughout the season and it was on full display in the series against Columbus.  The 2-0 comeback, the double overtime goal in Game 3, the relentless penalty kill the last 4 games, Backstrom's OT redirect goal in Game 5, Stephenson's short handed goal in Game 6.  All of this shows how this Capitals team will not be fazed by adversity as easily has they have been in the past, and that is a good thing because the one thing that is most important in this upcoming series with the Pens is more tangible than grit.  Winning.

All it will take is one victory.  One time for Alex Ovechkin to get the better of his nemesis to make the fan base believe in themselves again.  It does not matter how many times the Penguins have ousted the Capitals in the past, all the Caps need to do is win this one series against their most hated rival to give the fan base back some dignity.  One time where Caps fans get to celebrate in their own building, their own city, and not have to watch this travesty again.  There have been too many times over the past decade where Caps fans' hopes have been dashed in gut wrenching fashion in the playoffs, but all of those don't matter now.  All that matter is that the Caps win this one series, one game at at time, to give Caps fans something to come back at Pens fans with when the discussion of playoff success comes up.  The Caps need to win this one series so that Ovechkin can say he got the better of Sidney Crosby at least once when it really mattered.  Finally, the Caps need to win this one series in order to break the playoff futility of all DC Sports in order to give the fan base the one thing they want.  The chance to see their team play for a championship.

The Capitals Are Winning With Grit

It is hard to believe that it has been ten years since this all started.  Ten years since the Rock the Red era truly began and engulfed the DC market.  Ten years since the Caps were left for dead in the middle of November, only to be resurrected by Bruce Boudreau's high flying style of hockey that led them to a Southeast Division Championship.  Since that time the Caps have regularly enjoyed the pinnacles of success throughout the regular season, only to be disappointed time and again once the playoffs rolled around.  Even the 2007-2008 Capitals, for all the moxie they displayed throughout that season, could not get out of the first round of the playoffs.  The determination of that '07-'08 team, though, is what separates them from the rest of the Caps teams that have won over the past decade.  That team had to scrap for a majority of the season to put themselves in a position to win a division title.  All the other subsequent iterations of the Capitals rested on the laurels of their talent, and high expectations, to carry them to success without developing a true sense of grit.  Until this season.

For the first time in ten years, the Capitals came into this season with very low expectations.  Another playoff exit at the hands of the Penguins, coupled with the exodus of numerous high profile free agents, led everyone to the conclusion that the Capitals' window of success had closed.  Even die hard Caps fans had to take a serious look at the game program on opening day to know who the hell was starting, and most fans expected this new combination of players to be inferior to what they had seen in the recent past.  The fans' reservations about the team were confirmed early on, but the Caps have fought through that adversity in a way nobody expected to find themselves at the top of the Metropolitan Division in an equally inexplicable manner.  Just look at the stats.  The Capitals are 24th in the league in Corsi% (47.82%), which means they are giving up significantly more shots on goal than they put on their opponents net.  They are the only division leader that has under 100 points, and their +15 goal differential is the lowest of any team that has 90 points or more.  They have the 5th worst penalty differential at -32, meaning they are taking way more penalties than they are drawing.  Finally, their PDO stat (Save% + Shooting%, which traditionally has been an indirect indicator of luck) of 101.62 is 5th best in the league.  So the Caps are leading the most competitive division in the NHL with a low goal differential relative to their point total while taking numerous penalties and benefiting from a wee bit of puck luck. What gives?  The answer lies in the grit that the Capitals have developed over the course of this season.

Despite the high roster turnover and low expectations stemming from the end of last season, the Capitals have been able to organically develop a sense of resiliency through all players needing to prove themselves.  New forwards like Chandler Stephenson, Devante Smith-Pelly, and Alex Chiasson had to prove that they belong on a high caliber team such as the Capitals.  Jakub Vrana had to prove that his skill set warranted him being a regular second line starter.  Brett Connolly needed to prove that he was not a one-hit-free-agent wonder.  Christian Djoos needed to prove that he could replace both the offensive and defensive skills that left the Capitals defense after last seasons.  Grubauer needed to prove that Vegas made a mistake in passing on him in the supplemental draft, and subsequently Holtby continues to need to prove he is still the number one goalie in DC.  Finally, the superstars of the team needed to prove that the real skill of the team did not leave Washington, and that they could keep the window of success open so long as they wear a red sweater.  All of these sentiments have coalesced into a team that is not phased by close games, and one that has come out on top in those games more often than naught through resiliency rather than skill level.  Maybe the advanced stats are right, and that the Capitals have just been the benefit of luck throughout this season.  And maybe the Caps will continue to be susceptible to teams like Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Tampa Bay who have the speed and skill through the middle that have haunted this team in the playoffs in years past.  But unlike other seasons, the Capitals have not tried to manufacture success.  For the first time in ten years, they have developed a mentality from within that has galvanized the team in a way that has made them ready for whatever challenges arise at the end of this season.  It is still not even a given that the Capitals will make the playoffs this season, but the Capitals have the one thing necessary to handle all situations.  Grit.