People are rather stunned in Capitals camp today as the team goes through exit meetings and ponders what went wrong. It's a similar feel at SBN's Caps blog, Japers' Rink, where fans are trying to deal with the reality that their team is no longer in the postseason.
The biggest question, of course, is where does the organization turn next?
To start, there needs to be complete acceptance of the reality that this postseason (and, by extension, this season) was a failure - and that that responsibility for that failure lies with the Capitals and the Capitals alone. At this point, there shouldn't be any excuses. No shrugging the shoulders and claiming the Capitals were the victim of a hot goaltender. No saying that the powerplay, two of the team's four top offensive players, and too many of the secondary players slumped at the same time. No blaming it on Tom Poti's injury (awful timing notwithstanding) or whatever other injuries come to light in tomorrow's breakdown day. No blaming it on bad bounces, bad ice, bad calls, or bad luck. The team isn't making any of these excuses, and as fans we shouldn't be making them on their behalf.