Which means that for now, at least, the Capitals are a really good team.
"I don't know exactly what it is," says Khristich. "There is no real difference from last year, but you look and you see how it goes." He has a broad smile on his face. "We've scored some goals."
Murray, with his neatly combed silver hair and his unruffled air, allows himself a smile. "Everybody likes to score," he says. "That's what brings the attention."
It is also, as Murray and the Capitals are learning, what brings success.