The Capitals know that the effort wasn't good enough and explain their plan to turn the page.
In the blink of an eye, the Washington Capitals saw two critical points slip through their fingers in Buffalo, as the Sabres struck three times in under three minutes en route to a dominant win on Tuesday. And they know exactly how it happened.
Washington had an easy time reflecting on what went wrong in the 6-2 loss to Buffalo, which saw Charlie Lindgren given the mercy pull.
"Every time we give up those chances, it's not good unless Chucky really bails us out, which he did tonight, and we still gave up the goals and the chances. Just not good enough," Strome said bluntly postgame.
The Capitals got off to a quick start, with Martin Fehervary scoring three minutes in to make it a 1-0 game. After that, things got out of hand, as Buffalo tilted the ice and spent a good amount of time on the offensive.
"The wheels just came off for us. The momentum really changed, they were all over us," Beck Malenstyn added. "As a whole for the game, we'll look back at this one and understand that it wasn't good enough."
"We just gave up too many chances against and chasing the game the whole night... just squandered away," Strome said. "Just disappointing... would like to get some ground but it is what it is. One game, just move on."
Washington is 0-2-1 in the last three games and sits tied for the second Wild Card spot. The final eight games on the regular season circuit consist of tough divisional matchups and top-ranked opponents in the East, and Tuesday's loss only benefitted the likes of Philadelphia and Detroit.
"We're still in the thick of it, (but) it helps the other teams out that we lost," Strome noted.
The Capitals are back at it on Thursday for a meeting with the Pittsburgh Penguins, a game where two points are necessary to keep their head above water and stay in the thick of the playoff race, while even having the potential to reclaim third in the Metropolitan Division if the out-of-town scoreboard helps them out.
For Malenstyn, the solution is simple: keep things tight and get back to an identity, and all will work out.
"I think games like this have caused us trouble throughout the year and we need to adjust absolutely. When we get ourselves in tight one goal games, you really see our true colors shine," Malenstyn said. "We're a team that can really suffocate and put pucks in the back of the net and force teams to have to defend and tonight I don't think we were able to sustain enough pressure in their end to really set our tone. That's gonna be a big adjustment for us moving forward. We have to find ways to set the tempo."