Caps Begin Regrouping

There will be plenty of time to dissect what happened last night in game seven, the entire series against Les Habitant, the regular season and, of course, where the Caps can turn next. There will be space devoted to the coach's quotes and who on the Caps (cough, Alex Semin, cough) haven't bought into the system.

But this morning's thought is this: Coach Bruce Boudreau needs to figure out what the Montreal Canadiens realized between their game four loss (that put them down three games to one) and their game five win (which started what was finished last night). And Gabby needs to make sure that it doesn't happen again.

Jacques Martin may have only won his first game seven as a coach last night, but he certainly understands playoff hockey. And he got his players to buy what he was selling. Boudreau's request from GM George McPhee must be to ask for a roster full of players who are on board. (Warning: you will read this again and again.)

That is the only way the Caps will have a chance to win the Stanley Cup. The regular season, as the Caps (and others, such as the San Jose Sharks and Ottawa Senators) have realized, means nothing. Performing in the playoffs is what matters. And, in that area, the Caps seem to be channeling the great Albert Einstein, but not in a good way.

Einstein famously quipped that the definition of insanity was "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." As a Caps fan, it's hard to argue with that right now.