(By Nick Wass / AP)
There are two versions of the way the Caps season ended last spring.
The first might as well be etched onto the spinal columns of the team’s battered supporters: Game 7: L (OT). There was a three-games-to-one lead in a playoff series, and a twinkle of hope, and then there wasn’t. “The script has been familiar,” as Grantland put it, while cataloging Washington’s 30-year postseason root canal.
Now consider another way. In one season, Washington scrubbed away the dysfunction of the Adam Oates era. Organizational roles were redefined. Months of violent change yielded an MVP candidate, a franchise goalie, a pair of fledgling offensive stars, a seasoned coach, and a playoff team that is again being touted as a Stanley Cup contender.