WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals aren't blind to the fact that things haven't gone according to plan in the final stretch of the regular season.
Washington has dropped three straight games and is 3-6-1 in the last 10. Not only that, in 11 straight contests, the team has given up at least three goals, and over that same span, the offense has struggled with a league-worst goals-for percentage of 33.93 percent at 5-on-5.
"Obviously, it's not ideal. There's been a lot going on," alternate captain Tom Wilson said. "We don't want to make excuses... at this time of year, it's such a fine line as to winning and losing, and we just got to learn from this."
While the Capitals don't want to make excuses, there is validity behind some of them; the team is just getting a chance to exhale following the culmination of Alex Ovechkin's "GR8 Chase" and has already clinched the Eastern Conference.
All the while, the Capitals are missing key players Aliaksei Protas and Logan Thompson due to injury, Jakob Chychrun just came back after battling illness and the lineup has been tweaking with players dealing with different situations and key guys getting rest ahead of the postseason.
Capitals Injury Updates: Protas Hopeful To Skate This Week, Thompson Takes Ice On HIs Own
As the Washington Capitals prepare for their regular season home finale and look toward the playoffs, they got positive news on the injury front with regard to Aliaksei Protas and Logan Thompson.
That being said, the group is aware of the circumstances and knows that things need to change before the postseason, but it also isn't panicking.
"We know what we're capable of... I don't think concern, in this room, is going to be a point of attack for us," Jakob Chychrun said.
"We big boys, we know what's on the line," Ovechkin added.
Still, Ovechkin acknowledged that the Capitals do need to improve in several areas, and for him, generating more offense will be a priority, as well as consistency through 60 minutes.
"I don't think something wrong (with our play,)... I think mentally, you just have to be ready for that kind of game in the playoffs," he pointed out.
Wilson also added that the compete level was a lot better on Sunday, a 4-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, and a step in the right direction, and agreed with Ovechkin that the team just needs to clean up in certain areas and be read
"Once we get our guys in there for playoffs, we got to make sure that we're playing well together and we're playing detailed because that's what the playoffs demand," Wilson said.
At the end of the day, Washington is confident in itself going into the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, especially having shown consistency through most of the year up until this point and proving that it's a top contender night in and night out.
"Really, I think we're a good team. We just got to be prepared the last two games to ramp it up here, obviously," Andrew Mangiapane said. "I think we're a mature group in here and we know what needs to be done, how we need to play for Game 1."