At first I was really skeptical about your point, but you make a good argument. I didn’t like Ovechkin’s post-game interview either. What– if anything– did he learn from the game? Compare that to Knuble, who had no shortage of ideas or opinions.

As for the less important things…Someone else needs to wear the C, in my opinion, and soon.  Ovie is easy to follow when he’s an MVP candidate, but other than his production, what does he bring to the table as a locker room leader?  I know he has passion and he tries hard, but no captain should be handing out “maybe it wasn’t our night” nonsense after that game.  Right now, he’s not even playing like the Caps’ best player.  You want to hold players accountable BB?  Give the C to a leader.  Heck, give the C to the player giving the most consistent effort.  Make it a prize, do SOMETHING.

Captains don’t shrug.

As for the game, it was evident from the get go that we were going to be a step slow all night.  I stopped counting the number of odd-man rushes.  We struggled all night to get the puck deep and continue a cycle.  Without Neuvy, the score would have been much, much worse.

As for the Caps, you summed it up exactly right.  There was too much deja vu about tonight’s game, and none of it good.  It reminded me of the dark ages from last season when the team as a whole didn’t show up, didn’t compete.  Let’s nip this in the bud ASAP, boys, and get your focus and attention back before it becomes a festering bad habit.