The Capitals are continuing to trade wins and losses, but know something has to give as the East gets tighter.
Geoff Burke — Imagn ImagesThe going's only gotten tougher for the Washington Capitals.
In the throes of a rough stretch of 22 games in 41 days, Washington is trading wins and losses, and all the while, dealing with what seems to be one thing after another.
On top of Pierre-Luc Dubois' long-term absence, Washington's also had to play without Tom Wilson since the start of the month as he works his way back from a lower-body injury. Aliaksei Protas recently returned from his own lower-body ailment, but on Sunday, Washington was left shorthanded again, as Jakob Chychrun had to sit out due to illness while Justin Sourdif left early and did not return after being struck in the face with a puck.
Adversity hasn't been a stranger to D.C., who remains in the thick of a tight Metropolitan Division. However, the team doesn't want to use it to justify its recent struggles.
"Everyone's thin, and we can't make excuses," Dylan Strome said. "We've got to find a way to bounce back and string a couple together here."
That said, it's hard not to.
"It's hard," coach Spencer Carbery said. "You're asking (Alex Ovechkin) at 40 years old to produce offensively at 5-on-5, it's just not fair to him. Same thing with the Ryan Leonards of the world, (Connor McMichael), Pro, Stro. We're not going to use it as an excuse."
Ovechkin has goals in four straight games, and Washington also recently struck gold with its McMichael-Sourdif-Leonard combination. John Carlson's also been picking up points from the blue line.
However, there's a need for production beyond a handful of names, and the team knows it. With the exception of Ethen Frank, goals haven't come easy for the bottom-6 of late, and since early December, the Capitals have the ninth-least goals per game (2.89) in the NHL.
"It's just a tough league," Charlie Lindgren noted. "We know the group we have in this room. We're fully capable of stringing together back-to-back wins and just consistency. We'll find it here."
Beyond the struggles on offense, Washington's also fallen prey to a handful of costly mistakes here and there that ultimately prove to be the difference between two points.
"It's kind of that same story the last 15-20 games, not consistent enough getting wins and finding ways to lose," Strome said.
And, given how close things are in the standings, it's not sustainable.
“It seems like everyone in the East is winning consistently, so we've got to string some together," Strome pointed out.
So, what's the way out?
For D.C., it's the same thing as earlier in the season, before a red-hot November turned things around: trust the process.
"We’ll continue to push and grind and find ways to get better and find ways to do all the things (we have to) offensively. We’re going to work on it," Carbery said, also noting, "We’re going to practice it, we’re going to develop it. That won’t change, but it’s difficult with where we’re at personnel-wise right now.”
"We’re finding ways, and I feel like if we keep that 5-n-5 play up and control a lot of play we’ll be okay," Strome added.