If there was any doubt whether the Caps were ready to face their former goaltender in net last night, it was dismissed the second they took the first shot. Nothing in their demeanor, approach to or effort in last night’s game seemed any different than if they had been facing any other rival goaltender – which is exactly what we want.

Heck, by the time I had finished watching, I was almost there myself.

Extenuating circumstances kept me from churning out a preview for last night’s game, but I’m not even sure what I would have said had I the time or inclination to do so. Olie was such a huge part of my childhood, such a huge presence in what I knew to be the Caps, such a huge figure in Washington sports in general. Reading the articles that pored out of local and national writers alike in the 24 hours leading up to this one I found myself getting more emotional than I’d expected, remembering the heartbreak that was bidding farewell to Olie Kolzig.

But as soon as the puck dropped and we faced our old friend in foe’s clothing, all of that nostalgia had to be put aside. It had to be put aside.

Because Olie didn’t come to DC just to catch up with old friends and pay tribute to the fans who supported him all these years – make no mistake about it, he came here to take two points away from our team. The fact that the loss can’t be completely attributed to him is probably some small amount of comfort to those finding it hard to take their leave of Zilla; for the rest of us the only thing that should matter is the win by the Caps.

We’ve had a long summer and about a month of regular season hockey to adjust to the idea of Olie as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning. And sure, there was still something strange about seeing that silhouette – that figure that is so clearly Olie and no one else – dressed in white and black instead of red, white and blue. Seeing a close-up shot of his face in a mask that was familiar and yet completely foreign was definitely a surreal moment.

Now that the game is over, though, it’s time to move on. Getting that first one out of the way was key, for the team, for Olie, and for the fans. Who knows? The next time we meet, maybe there will be a bit more fervor behind the mocking “Ooooo-lie” chants, a bit more sarcasm and a bit less reverance. We’ll give him the honor and respect he’s so richly deserved when the #37 is raised to the rafters – until then he’s a rival, an opponent, someone blocking our way to where we want to be. And I, for one, have closure.

On to that game, because, in case you missed it amongst all the Olie-centric media, there was actually a game played last night. I started watching long after everyone else had probably gone to bed, and admittedly fast-forwarded through parts so as not to be a complete zombie today. But from where I was sitting the boys looked pretty good, especially in the first.

Of course Barry Melrose didn’t give the Caps any credit for the win, but that’s understandable – his team didn’t show up, why give them an excuse to hide behind? Tampa didn’t show up until late, the Caps showed up early and held on, and it goes in the books as a win for Washington.

It’s funny how things work out. For a week or two people have been talking about the solution to the Caps’ temporary scoring problems being the procurement of one or two ugly goals. Well, they’ve since achieved the ugly goals and sprinkled a few pretty ones in to boot, returning to the semi-highpowered offense we all know and love.

So there has to be some optimism at the way that Ovechkin snapped his 9-game scoreless drought. A goal that was both ugly and gorgeous is exactly what he needs to get going again; it’s one more thing that is now out of the way, a sign that maybe #8 will stop squeezing the stick as tightly, shoot more, and trust himself to make the play. We hope.

As for the rest of the team, it was great to see Eric Fehr get his first of the year, Johnson added more fuel to the nonexistent goalie controversy, Backstrom continues to hover on the edge of having a breakout game, and John Erskine needs to stop taking stupid penalties before I hunt him down and shove a stick up his…

…ahem.

Two points, on to Carolina!