The Capitals couldn't keep up in an 8-3 defeat to the Red Wings.
Tuesday's game against the Detroit Red Wings carried a lot of weight for the Washington Capitals, who were on a five-game point streak and coming off a dominant 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators just a night before. The tables turned dramatically, though, as Tuesday would be the ugliest loss to date.
Fatigue led to the Capitals falling back into bad habits, resulting in a deflating 8-3 loss at the hands of the Red Wings in a game that holds significance in the ever-changing Wild Card race.
Here are all the takeaways from the defeat, which keeps D.C. six points out of third in the Metropolitan Division and far out of playoff position.
Capitals Fall Back Into Bad Habits For Deflating Loss As Team Gives Up Season-High 8 Goals
Over the last five games, the Capitals were picking up critical points because of a turnaround in play. On Tuesday, fatigue appeared to kick in as they fell back into the bad habits that plagued them to open the season.
Washington struggled greatly at both ends against the Red Wings, who dominated in scoring chances and zone time while also easily winning puck battles and maintaining possession as Shayne Gostisbehere struck twice with several other key players chipping in.
There were glaring mistakes on a few players. For instance, Joe Veleno's goal in the second showcased the biggest issues, as Joel Edmundson's failed clear to the middle of the ice resulted in a turnover, where Veleno was given all the time and space to operate and snipe one past Lindgren.
Later in that same frame, Detroit would restore its three-goal lead with a shorthanded goal following a rough play by John Carlson, who turned the puck over after a feed to the front.
Alex DeBrincat's goal in the third would be the nail in the coffin, which came on a 3-on-2 break following a turnover in the offensive zone by Nicolas Aube-Kubel, and Dylan Larkin made it an eight-goal game shortly after.
Charlie Lindgren did what he could in net, but at of the day, errors by the Capitals in front and a lack of focus on defense led to the team surrendering a team-high eight goals this season.
Another thing that was missing was Washington's response to adversity, which has been impressive over this recent stretch. The Capitals just didn't have that extra step, and when Detroit responded, they couldn't answer with much back and appeared deflated.
Capitals Struggle To Generate Offense Through 60, Though Hershey Bears Continue To Step Up
Washington also struggled to get much going offensively, managing just 11 shots on Alex Lyon and failing to generate a lot of high-danger chances or shifts in momentum. The Capitals were held to the outside and outmatched and outplayed, while they also failed to meet the Red Wings' speed. Detroit also blocked over 20 attempts from D.C.
Ultimately, it was the Hershey Bears who got on the board, with Hendrix Lapierre picking up his third goal in two games and Mike Sgarbossa spinning and scoring for his second point in as many nights.
While getting offense from the call-ups was a good sign, Washington needs to get back to the winning formula of getting to the inside, getting around the net and generating chances in order to pick up critical points going forward. At the end of the night, D.C. managed just 20 shots on goal.
Capitals Power Play Stays Hot, But Rally In Third Shut Down Quickly; Lines Get Put In Blender
The Capitals did manage to break through on the power play in the third period, as Max Pacioretty cashed in on a rebound off an Ovechkin drive to make it a 6-3 game. Pacioretty now has goals in back-to-back games and points in five of his last six.
It marked the third straight game the Capitals converted on the power play, and the team now has a PPG in six of the last seven, with five PPGs in the last three games overall.
While that goal provided a spark, the game was far out of reach and the attempt to rally came too little, too late for D.C. DeBrincat and Dylan Larkin's goals in the third also put things further out of reach.
Also, over the course of the game, the lines also got a tweak, as Anthony Mantha went to work with Dylan Strome and Alex Ovechkin while Tom Wilson was moved down to operate with Connor McMichael and Aliaksei Protas.
Top Shelf Takes
- Ovechkin picked up two assists and now has points in 11 of his last 13 outings. He also led the team with five shots.
- Mantha had a helper and has three points in his last two games and six points in his last six overall.
- Connor McMichael was credited with an assist and now has seven points in his last five games, as well as three points in his last two.
- Carlson picked up an assist and has points in four of his last five games.