Pins and Needles

Attention Jose Theodore: your account of good will in the bank of Cap's fans is overdrawn. Please make a deposit immediately before attempting to make another withdrawal. I mean, seriously.... Early impressions of Olie Kolzig in his first season as starter were of him giving himself brain-freeze from standing on his head all the time. Consequently, he'll receive a hero's welcome later this season despite 50 games of marginal play last year. Ya see how it works Jose?

Caps faithful went into this season with bravado, knowing that our team could stand in blow-for-blow with the best in the league. After 26 seconds of the home opener, 18,000 people were on pins and needles every time a shot came toward our goal. With one bad goal, the vibe switched from optimistic confidence to hesitant relief in the victory.

In all fairness, Theodore made a handful of nearly acrobatic saves as the game progressed (thanks in large part to the Cap's newfound propensity for taking garbage penalties). But you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

Thanks a lot for letting all the air out of my balloon in the first week of the season. At least Ovechkin has a reputation for pumping me back up.