ARLINGTON, V.A. — This year's Washington Capitals aren't ones to dwell.
So, after a rough 2-1 overtime loss to the rough-and-tumble Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1, it was business as usual at MedStar Capitals Iceplex on Wednesday. Some players took the ice for an optional skate to work on skills and other fundamentals of the game, while others hit the gym, broke down video or received treatment.
After taking accountability for the poor effort put forth to open the series,the Capitals put Tuesday's contest quickly out of mind as they got back to work. And overall, it wasn't a somber day at practice, but one where Washington was introspective, driven and focused on the road ahead.
"That game's over now. We've moved on. Like we can learn from it, no question, but you can't sulk on it," Nic Dowd said matter-of-factly. "We have six games here that are a potential to play. I mean you watch the Winnipeg series, that game went down to the last 1 second. Anything can happen in these playoffs... We've moved on. Today we're focused on individuals and how they can get their game ready for tomorrow."
Tom Wilson, Aliaksei Protas and Ryan Leonard were the regulars who chose to skate after the defeat, joining the scratches and extras for on-ice work with the coaches. There were smiles and positive attitudes among those at the facility, something that bodes well going into Thursday's Game 2.
"Short memory," a high-spirited Brandon Duhaime said. "It doesn't matter you win, lose, you got to come with the same attitude every day, and it's a clean slate every game."
That bodes well for Washington, a team that has relied on its tight-knit room and the concept of the power of friendship as fundamental to its success this season.
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ARLINGTON, V.A. — Over a handful of weeks in the summer, the Washington Capitals made quite the statement, overturning a third of the roster with an on-the-fly retool. Among the big-name acquisitions like Jakob Cychrun, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Logan Thompson, Washington made a quiet depth deal, inking Brandon Duhaime to a two-year deal to help fill the void on the bottom-6.
So ultimately, Wednesday was a productive day, as the Capitals are eager to replicate the resilience and ability to bounce back after a loss that they've shown over the course of the 2024-25 campaign.
Coach Spencer Carbery said that the group is focused on putting forth a better effort, and noted there could be lineup changes coming. That said, it was an upbeat, busy day balanced with rest to prepare for the rough road ahead, and D.C. feels prepared.
“I think our guys and our team and our staff has done a pretty good job all year is, we’re very, very short-term focused so I don’t even look at it as a series at this point right now," Carbery said, adding, "We just need to play well tomorrow night. That’s really all our focus is, 'What do we need to adjust? What do we need to do tomorrow to have success on home ice and have our game look as close to possible what our game needs to look like this year and the level it has to be at — extremely high — to compete with a team like the Carolina Hurricanes?'"