Carbery: Washington is finding its game, players are getting into rhythm.
Alright, let's huddle up and talk about the Washington Capitals, because the vibes right now are… complicated. Head coach Spencer Carbery just dropped some real talk after his squad took their fourth straight L, this time a brutal 4-3 overtime gut-punch against the Buffalo Sabres.Now, if you're just looking at the standings, you might not hit the panic button yet, but Carbery isn't fooled by the early-season math. He’s seeing what we’re all seeing: a team that’s still trying to find its identity, like a rookie trying to pick a goal song.'We're still finding our game, finding our identity,' Carbery said, cutting through the usual coach-speak with the kind of honesty you usually only get in a post-game locker room when the doors are closed. 'I know our record looked halfway decent early on, but I'm not deceived by the numbers.' That’s the key takeaway here, folks. This isn’t about a bad bounce or a hot goalie; this is a systemic search for a rhythm.You’ve got guys who are clearly still in their preseason legs, struggling to find that explosive first step and the hands to finish on a 2-on-1. It’s the hockey equivalent of a shooter with a cold streak—you see them squeezing the stick a little too tight, overthinking every shot, and the confidence just isn't flowing.Carbery acknowledged that, talking about players 'going through a tough stretch' but fighting to break through. He’s basically the point guard trying to run the offense while his shooters are ice-cold, and his job is to keep feeding them the puck until one finally rattles in and breaks the seal.The upcoming game against the St. Louis Blues on the night of November 5th isn't just another date on the calendar; it's a litmus test.Can they build on what Carbery called 'a good step forward' even in a loss? Because that’s the paradox of a tough stretch like this—sometimes you can play a halfway decent game and still come up empty, and the challenge is to not let that frustration poison the next performance. You look at the core of this team, the veterans who have been through wars, and you know they’ve seen this movie before.Every season has its slumps; it’s an 82-game marathon, not a sprint. The great teams, the ones that are playing deep into May and June, they use these early-season struggles to build resilience.They figure out how to grind out points when their A-game is in the shop for repairs. That’s the 'step-by-step' process Carbery is preaching.It’s not about flipping a switch and becoming the 2018 Capitals overnight. It’s about the little things: winning more board battles, cleaning up the breakout, getting a big save at the right time.It’s about a third-line grinder blocking a shot that leads to a momentum-changing shift. This is where a coach's mentality is so crucial.If Carbery comes in ranting and raving after an OTL where they showed some fight, he risks losing the room. But if he can frame it as progress, as a building block, he keeps the belief alive.He’s trying to 'get guys up to speed,' to build that foundational confidence so that when the scoring chances come—and they will, for snipers like Ovechkin, they always do—they’re buried without a second thought. The Metropolitan Division is a gauntlet, and there’s no time to feel sorry for yourself.A four-game skid in October can be a footnote; a four-game skid in March can be a tombstone for your playoff hopes. So, while the 'Caps might be searching for their game, the fact that the coach can find a 'positive' in a tough road loss tells you everything about the mindset he’s trying to instill.It’s a long season, and sometimes you have to learn how to win by first remembering how to compete. The rhythm will come, but for now, it’s all about the grind.
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