The Carolina Hurricanes are dead-last in their division, and just a single point separates them and dead-last in the Eastern Conference. That's pretty bad.
And yet even so- They have three more points than the Dallas Stars.
As a group we've an abundance of experience in dealing with this- The long, slow fade. The inevitability it takes each of us to a variable length of time to grasp. We've done it all before- In the time of the Gulutzans and the Crawfords of the world.
But this season- And after last season? It makes the whole thing feel remarkably fresh and new, does it not?