Washington Capitals: Takeaways from the Caps' First 2 Months of 2011-12 Season

At times, the Washington Capitals' 2011-12 season has felt as if the world of the defending Southeast Division champions has turned upside down.

For starters, Bruce Boudreau is no longer the coach of the team after a successful four-year stint that always seemed to wilt in the playoffs.

Look to the scoring race, and you won't catch a scent of Alexander Ovechkin. At his current pace, you'd be more likely to find Tomas Fleischmann's name gracing the top of the list than the former Rocket Richard trophy winner (irony, sweet irony).

While on the subject, the Florida Panthers are in first place in the division, while the Capitals, if the season were to end today, would be setting tee times instead of playing hockey.

Fans in Washington have clamored for years that regular season success was nominally important versus success in the playoffs. It looks as if that theory is about to be put to the test as Dale Hunter attempts to right the ship.

So what can we take away from these first two months of the season? Quite a lot, actually.

First, Ovechkin is no longer the 50-goal scorer we saw just two years ago. While he is in the midst of what some would call a slump, his return to that form is far from likely. Ovechkin's shot percentage (which sits at nine percent) is good for fourth lowest on the team among consistent starting forwards, above only Mike Knuble, Jeff Halpern and Matt Hendricks. He is on pace to score just 25 goals and 60 points on the season. Daunting numbers, to say the least, but there is likely to be a rebound for his production, just not as drastic as most would hope.

Can the successes and failures of the team be placed squarely on Ovechkin's shoulders? It seems not. At this point last season, Ovechkin had scored 10 goals versus the eight he has scored this year.

The team as a whole, however, also outpaced their current production by 10 goals (88 vs. 78) last season. It would seem that it is more a case of overall production, as well as defense, which is factoring into the team's 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings.

Poor performance tends to bring out detractors, and this season, there have been demands from the fans and media to fire the coach (they got their wish there), trade star players (Ovechkin, Semin, Green) even shouts to blow up the team and start over. They should hold their composure.  With the recent skid following the Capitals franchise best 7-0 start comes the promise of a turnaround.

The lows and highs of the long 82-game NHL season are inevitable. Look at bitter rival Pittsburgh, who, on their way to a Stanley Cup in the 2008-2009 season, went a collective 10-16-2 in December and January (5-8-1 in each month).

In the month of December Sidney Crosby, one of the team's top goal scorers and point producers, had just two tallies in the goal column. The Penguins, however, were able to rebound and finish the season 21-6-4.

Is this to say there is a guarantee the Capitals will do the same and win the Stanley Cup? Of course not. But it shows that there is hope left in this young season.  While the first two months have been difficult to say the least, we can only look ahead.

It is time to put the theory to the test.