The Capitals' 10-4-1 start is, in large part, due to the positivity and winning mentality in the room.
ARLINGTON, V.A. — Watching film from the Washington Capitals' 4-3 overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, head coach Spencer Carbery was brutally honest: he thought it looked even worse than what he saw on the bench.
His players agreed, with leading scorer Dylan Strome candidly saying "it wasn't our brand of hockey" and Aliaksei Protas calling it "unacceptable."
A loss like that — which saw Toronto rally back from two goals down in a span of 4:37 minutes despite having two goals called back, and then winning on a breakaway in the final minute of overtime — would be deflating for last year's group.
But this year's Capitals are different, and it's not just because of the roster overhaul they completed over the summer. It's because of the culture, which has thrived under Carbery's leadership and camaraderie between the players in the dressing room.
"We have a great locker room of guys that care and want to do the right thing and want to play the right way, and desperately want to win," Carbery added.
Washington's been able to bounce back with big performances after losses, and has impressed with its 10-4-1 record to open the season. And for the players, a lot of that resilience and success comes down to something simple as good vibes.
"We're a high-character group," Charlie Lindgren said.
Every team will say that the locker room is tight-knit, but the Capitals' locker room culture has a positive reputation around the league, which is what drew Brandon Duhaime, Taylor Raddysh and so many different players to the District in the first place.
The Capitals not only brought in several new faces, but also brought back 2018 Stanley Cup champions Jakub Vrana and Lars Eller.
Tom Wilson said "getting the band back together" has been great for the group, too, and has helped it further establish its identity.
"When you talk about vibes, it's always nice to have those guys back around," Wilson said. "We've been through a lot for eally fun things together. They're champions, and they're champions for a reason, so whenever you can keep that caliber of person and player around... that'll bring an extremely strong element and identity to our group."
When it comes to exactly what sets the group apart, though, a lot of it has to do with everyone playing a unique role.
Nic Dowd, who's been with the team since 2018 and has been a vocal leader over the last few seasons, put it simply.
"We have 23 different personalities in here, and they all seem to mesh very, very well," Dowd said.