From Rings to the Rink

The Capitals open their 2018-19 season against the Boston Bruins Wednesday night, and for players the puck can't drop fast enough.
"After about three preseason games, you're like 'all right, we're ready to start,'" center Lars Eller said. "It's [rewarding] to get through the long days of training camp, but now you're focused on the season."

The shift in mentality happened overnight - literally. The Capitals concluded the celebration tour on Monday with perhaps the most memorable of all: the ring ceremony, a rite of passage for championship teams. Though they've each spent personal days with the Stanley Cup, and played in exhibition games as reigning champions, it wasn't until they assembled at The Palm restaurant and slipped on the 14-karat white and gold ring that the feeling settled in.
"I think a lot of us just stared at [the ring]," winger Brett Connolly said. "I was looking at it all night when I got home. I think the initial feeling you get is, you don't really believe it."
"You feel pretty good about yourself, when you actually get that ring and put it on," Eller said. "Nobody can take that accomplishment from you and you'll have that as a personal reminder."

For the next six to eight months, the ring will return to the box, placed somewhere safe. What it represents, however, will serve as motivation. Athletes often say that their favorite ring is the next one. The Capitals can now relate.
"When you've gone all the way, when you've felt that experience, what it's like, you want to experience that feeling again," Eller said. "You want to be a part of something special."
Eller acknowledged the challenge of adjusting from ring ceremonies and banner-raising to live-action, NHL hockey, but said that snapping back into form is a part of the job.

Head coach Todd Reirden, for his part, said he's looking forward to the moment of celebration with the fans Wednesday as the Stanley Cup banner unravels in the arena. Reirden's confident the team will then come out focused, based on the end of last week.
"I think we had a good training camp," Reirden said. "We had certain goals in mind, starting with the conditioning aspect, how they came into camp. I was really happy with that. We had to try out a number of younger players and I was proud of our veteran guys - they did a great job in terms of their leadership and passing down the culture, building that and making them feel a part of it."
"I'm most excited for our players and for our fans," Reirden said of the pregame festivities and first game. "Forty-four years without a championship and now it culminates with the raising of the banner. You can't put a level on the excitement that I have for this event tomorrow ... This is an amazing thing for this whole town and our players."