Nathan MacKinnon struck four times as the Capitals collapsed in Colorado.
To kick things off in Denver on Wednesday, the Washington Capitals were playing some solid hockey and even outplaying the high-flying Colorado Avalanche. Then, Cale Makar scored shorthanded, and the wheels fell off.
Washington fell into a 4-0 deficit, and a complete meltdown ultimately resulted in a 6-2 loss. The defeat weighs heavy for the Capitals, who remain three points out of a playoff spot and have yet to pick up a point on the four-game road swing they placed the importance of their season on.
Here are all the takeaways:
Capitals' Decent Start Thwarted By Late Shorthanded Goal, Team Collapses In Second & Cannot Match MacKinnon, Avalanche
Washington got off to a good start and did a lot of things right, controlling the pace of play, moving the puck efficiently and even getting a couple of high-quality chances. Then, on a late power-play opportunity with 37 seconds left in the first, poor awareness and weak coverage resulted in a shorthanded goal for Cale Makar to make it a 1-0 game going into the second.
It marked the second time on this three-game road swing that D.C. gave up a shorthanded goal, and that would be a deflating play that gave the Avalanche all the momentum going into the second.
From there, it was all Colorado — and all Nathan MacKinnon — to open the second, and the Capitals fell apart.
MacKinnon scored back-to-back power-play goals from the left circle, where he was left wide open and had all the time and space to beat Charlie Lindgren. He completed the natural hat trick about halfway through the middle frame on a semi-breakaway after Rasmus Sandin failed to break up a 2-on-1 break he had with Mikko Rantanen.
All the while, Washington failed to get any momentum going at either end and sloppy play and mistakes proved costly as Colorado went up 4-0 to close out the second. There was no extra jump from the Capitals, and it was costly.
Rantanen and MacKinnon struck again in the third. MacKinnon finished with four goals, while he and Rantanen each had five-point outings.
Strome Scores Lone Goals, Offensive Struggles Continue In Lackluster Effort
Washington had another tough showing offensively, failing to generate a lot at 5-on-5 and on the power play. Alexandar Georgiev was sharp and bounces didn't go in the team's favor, but after the first, the Capitals just couldn't string together passes or plays to get high-quality chances on goal.
Finally, in the third, Dylan Strome broke through twice to make the result a bit less overwhelming. He now has 18 goals on the season, while Max Pacioretty, Alex Ovechkin, Tom Wilson and Ethan Bear picked up assists on his tallies. Pacioretty has seven points in his last nine games.
Still, those goals came too little, too late, as was the case 24 hours prior in Minnesota. And throughout the night, Washington just couldn't get anything going or replicate the first period.
Capitals Can't Match Speed, Outplayed Through 60 While Losing Special Teams Battle
Another issue that continued to plague the Capitals: their speed. Washington wasn't able to keep up with the high-flying Avalanche for 60 minutes, and it made the difference as the team's blue line was often beaten by MacKinnon and company.
The Capitals also lost the special teams battle, surrendering two power-play goals and failing to convert on any of their five opportunities.
Charlie Lindgren was also left to dry and surrendered six goals on 33 shots, marking the first time since Dec. 7 he's allowed at least four goals in regulation.