On October 6, the Washington Capitals opened the 2001-02 season with every reason to believe they were going to supplant their opponent that night, the New Jersey Devils, as Eastern Conference champions.

	2001-02 by the numbers
	Record: 36-33-11-2, 85 points (19th overall, 9th East, 2nd Southeast) Goals for: 228/2.78 (T9th overall) Goals against: 240/2.89 (25th overall) Differential: -12 (20th overall) 20-goal scorers: Peter Bondra (39), Jaromir Jagr (31), Serger Gonchar (26), Ulf Dahlen (23) 50-point scorers: Jagr (79), Bondra (70), Gonchar (59), Dahlen (52)

After all, the Capitals boasted one of the most potent lineups in the league, featuring five-time scoring champion Jaromir Jagr, assist extraordinaire Adam Oates, sniper Peter Bondra and the league's highest-scoring defenseman the previous three seasons, Sergei Gonchar. They had Steve Konowalchuk, Jeff Halpern and Ulf Dahlen, arguably the best checking line in the league. They had strength and experience on the blue line, with stay-at-home stalwarts Calle Johansson and Brendan Witt, and veterans Joe Reekie, Sylvain Cote and Ken Klee. They had 2000 Vezina Trophy winner Olie Kolzig in goal.

But soon after that 6-1 drubbing of the Devils, the picture began to change. By the middle of October, Konowalchuk had suffered a shoulder injury that would keep him out of the lineup until late February. By the middle of November, Johansson had succumbed to a rotator cuff injury that required season-ending surgery. By the middle of January, Halpern had torn his left anterior cruciate ligament and also required season-ending surgery.

By the middle of March, the disgruntled Oates, who had been clamoring for a contract extension all season, and Reekie had been traded.

By the end of the season, Kolzig, who himself had battled knee and ankle problems, had seen the most shots in the NHL (1,977), had allowed the most goals (192) and had posted his worst goals-against average (2.79) since he became a full-time No. 1 goalie in 1997-98.

And by the middle of May, coach Ron Wilson had lost his job.

Looking at next season
For the Capitals, the outcome of the 2002-03 season will depend on three things: Lang, luck and new coach Bruce Cassidy's learning curve.

For the first time in a long time, the Capitals went fishing off the free agent pier - and they caught themselves a big one, signing former Penguins center Robert Lang to a five-year, $25 million deal. While Lang hasn't posted near the assist numbers that Oates has, he's younger (31, Oates is 39) and is a bigger goal-scoring threat.

The addition of Lang and the decision not to re-sign unrestricted free-agent forwards Ulf Dahlen, Benoit Hogue, Joe Sacco and Dmitri Khristich, make the Capitals younger, faster and deeper. With Dainius Zubrus likely centering the top line between Jagr and, most likely, Chris Simon, Lang will anchor the second line, with Bondra on his right and a player to be named later on the left.

Halpern is expected to return from February surgery on his ACL at 100 percent, although it's unlikely he'll play in any preseason games. He'll be reunited with a healthy Konowalchuk on the Caps' offensively-dangerous checking line, with either Andrei Nikolishin or the versatile Kip Miller joining them.

The biggest question mark is on defense. Though Johansson's recovery is going well, because of the type of surgery, his status won't be known until he actually plays. If he's healthy, the Capitals will be able to bring along promising youngsters Nolan Yonkman and Jean-Francois Fortin at a nurturing pace. If not, they'll be expected to help compensate, a job that was filled last year by the since departed (read: old and slow) Reekie, Rob Zettler and Frantisek Kucera.

Goaltending is more of a concern than it is a question. Kolzig was overworked and injured last season, and Craig Billington posted woeful numbers in his place (3.04 goals-against average, .878 save percentage). While Billington is expected to be the primary backup again, there is a chance he will be replaced by Sebastien Charpentier, as highly-touted prospect Maxime Oulette, whom the Capitals acquired from Philadelphia for Oates, will take over the No. 1 job with the Portaland Pirates.

Like Anaheim's Mike Babcock, Cassidy doesn't have any previous NHL experience. However, his previous stint as the coach of Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League will come in handy, as many of last year's minor leaguers will be afforded opportunities with Washington.