The Washington Capitals roll into the Christmas break on a six-game win streak, which is to say pretty much how they've played the whole season so far: in rarified air.

"It's crazy. I've never been part of a team that's had this good of a start to the season, I don't think," Caps top-four blue-liner Karl Alzner said over the phone Tuesday. "There's not much that you can be upset about these days. It's fun going to the rink."

The 25-6-2 Caps are finding a million ways to win, as underlined by these stats:

Third in goals for per game (3.12)

First in goals against per game (2.15)

Second on the power play (25.7 percent)

Sixth on the penalty kill (84.4 percent)

In other words, high-scoring games, low-scoring games, physical games, finesse games, coming from behind, playing with a lead or needing Vezina Trophy contender Braden Holtby to just flat-out steal a game -- you name it, the Caps this season have won any which way.

"That's what we were talking about yesterday on the plane and on the bus -- it was huge for us to be able to win the way we did against Tampa and against the Rangers, to come back like we did in those games, and not just come back but do it against teams who are really good quality opponents," Alzner said. "We feel good. We're a confident bunch."

A team-first approach is paying off for Karl Alzner and the Capitals. Jared Silber/NHLI/Getty Images

On Friday night, the Caps erased a 3-0 deficit to beat the Lightning 5-3. Then on Sunday, they wiped out a 3-1 hole to pound the Rangers 7-3.

But perhaps what impressed coach Barry Trotz even more than coming back Monday night was how they edged the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 on the road -- a trap game if there was ever was one, being the seventh game in 11 days for the Caps.

"[Monday] night we get goals from [Michael] Latta and [Jason] Chimera," Trotz said Tuesday. "And it's the stars, like [T.J.] Oshie, Ovi [Alex Ovechkin] and [Nicklas] Backstrom, they were the guys blocking all the shots. Usually your bottom-six guys are doing all the grunt work and your top six are maybe not as rigid there. It flips-flops from night to night for us, which is a good feeling."

Again, they are finding different ways to win.

"One thing about this group is that they do not accept losing," Trotz said. "We lose one game and they're not happy. I really like that. It's something we started a bit last year, a culture change."

The hottest team in the East has all the respect in the world from the opposition, too.

"Timing is on cue with them, and they feel it," said one rival Eastern Conference coach via text message Tuesday. "If their top two lines aren't scoring, the bottom two will score. If the five-on-five game isn't going, special teams will bail them out. If that isn't going, their goalie bails them out ... That's how you get on a roll."

One rival Eastern Conference general manager also pointed to the additions over the past two years of quality players Brooks Orpik, Matt Niskanen, Justin Williams and Oshie as impactful add-ons for a team that has struggled to get over the playoff hump.

When all else fails for the Caps, there's Braden Holtby. Jean-Yves Ahern/USA TODAY Sports

"Those additions have made them a deep, win-now team," the GM said via text message. "No. 92's emergence has been huge as support for No. 19. They have high expectations and they will have to handle any adversity now or in the playoffs. No one is unbeatable in this league and they have stayed away from injuries for the most part. The group and Barry have never been past the second round. It's hard. And Barry is a heck of a coach and fit there."

No one in Washington is hiding from the elephant in the room. The fact that the Ovechkin-era Caps have never been past the second round of the playoffs is not a subject that's off limits within the organization. Bring it on, Trotz said.

"We talk about it all the time. We're not ignoring that," Trotz said. "I think in the past they've tried to ignore that a bit. We're not. We know this franchise hasn't done anything in the playoffs. We've had our failures. We need to get by the Rangers. We can go pretty deep but we haven't been able to get by the Rangers in three straight playoff series. I've been here for one, but we got to get that out of the way.

"Hey, we're all going to be judged on how far we go in the spring," Trotz added. "We recognize that. But this group doesn't want to the season to end. They're having too much fun."

The reality is that the Caps could run the table through March, but people will reserve judgment until the playoffs.

"Yeah, and that's fair to say," Alzner said. "I've talked to guys who have gone deep and have won, I've asked them what was so special about their team and what made the difference for them. A couple of times the response was that they played teams they're good against and had favorable matchups. That's part of it, I guess. We were a good team last year but just didn't have that favorable matchup against the Rangers, who have had our number."

Alzner paused before adding, "We're just looking to play the way we are and have fun. If we're meant to win, we're meant to win. We're going to give it everything we have. I think guys feel we have a special team right now."

You just sense this group is different. That this is finally the time for this team.

And to me, the tone was set in the second game of the season, on Oct. 13. Ovechkin showed up late for a morning meeting that day and was scratched. That message resonated. No more special rules for star players. Everyone has to be pulling on the same rope.

Alex Ovechkin, Matt Niskanen and T.J. Oshie are pulling in the same direction these days. Scott Audette/NHLI/Getty Images

"If one guy isn't doing what everyone else is doing, pulling on the same rope, we see that," Alzner said. "And Alex has been tugging on that rope hard and he wants to win just as bad as everyone else does. If he doesn't do something right, he gets called on it. If I don't do something right, I get called on it. If Tom Wilson doesn't do something right, he gets called on it. That really brings team unity. Barry has done a great job of making sure we're unified in that sense. We all see it and we all react very strongly to it. That's a huge, huge thing for a team."

Trotz said it's about fairness and honesty.

"I think the players trust me and my staff," he said. "We're not trying to embarrass anybody. I'm fair to everybody, I give everybody equal respect. As long as you're pulling on the rope, we never have any problems."

Ovechkin has responded well, too.

"Ovi isn't having as good a year production-wise, but he's having a better year positionally," Trotz said of Ovechkin, who is second in team scoring with 17 goals and 13 assists in 32 games. "Last year, I rarely used him in late-game situations, when the other team's goalie is out. Now he does it all the time. He takes pride in that.

"He's been really good, he's grown, he's in a really good place."

A culture change has taken place. The Caps are truly a team now.

"Definitely the culture in the dressing room is a little bit different," Alzner said. "I think we have guys who are so committed to the team, so committed to getting their bodies ready to play, and way more committed to being mentally prepared.

"I don't know, it's just working out so good right now. [The coaches] have changed everything and guys are really responding well to it."