It was another tough night for the Capitals on the biggest road trip of the year.

The Washington Capitals came into Edmonton hoping to right the ship and get the biggest road trip of the season back on track against the Oilers. But they couldn't keep up with the likes of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisatil and Zach Hyman, and it led to another harsh reality check and disappointing loss.

Washington couldn't keep up with the high-octane Oilers, and the team's struggles were on full display in an ugly 7-2 defeat in Edmonton.

Here are all the takeaways from the loss:

Capitals Struggle To Match Oilers' Speed & Shut Down Top Weapons, Kuemper Does What He Can As Turnovers & Penalties Prove Costly

The Capitals struggled to keep up with the Oilers' high-octane offense and speed and over the course of the night, found themselves outmatched and outskated.

Washington also left Darcy Kuemper, who started for the first time in six games, in a vulnerable spot at different points in the game after making costly mistakes with the puck and turning it over.

The Capitals additionally had a difficult time containing Edmonton's top weapons, as McDavid and Draisaitl had time and space to work with while Hyman was left alone in high-danger areas. It proved costly as Hyman had a natural hat trick, while McDavid and Draisaitl finished with four points each.

Warren Foegele and Connor Brown, who hadn't scored since March 2022 and played four games with D.C. last year, also struck to make it a seven-goal game.

Penalties also proved costly, as D.C. gave up three power-play goals on the night after back-to-back high-sticking calls and a cross-checking penalty for T.J. Oshie, who was battling for position in front.

At the end of the day, Kuemper did what he could and came up with a handful of big stops but ultimately surrendered seven goals on 37 shots in his first start since Feb. 26.

Capitals Struggle To Generate Offense, Get Late Push

They also struggled to generate a lot on offense or break out cleanly while losing battles in the neutral zone.

Though Alex Ovechkin got a couple of good looks and got going a bit toward the end of the game, and though Spencer Carbery tried to shake things up by putting McMichael up with Ovechkin and Hendrix Lapierre with Sonny Milano and Ivan Miroshnichenko, Washington couldn't get much going on the forecheck over 60 minutes.

There was a late surge for D.C., but it proved futile in the loss. D.C. was ultimately outshot 37-25, and Ovechkin had seven of those, with Stuart Skinner coming up with some big stops.

Capitals Fall Into Early Hole, Youth Steps Up In Back & Forth First

The Capitals fell into a tough spot early against the Oilers, with two high-sticking penalties proving costly as Connor McDavid and Edmonton's high-octane power play got to work.

At the tail-end of a double minor to Nic Dowd in the opening minutes, Leon Draisaitl finally fired home an attempt to make it 1-0. Soon after, McDavid would strike on another PP opportunity, putting D.C. in a 2-0 hole.

After being outmatched early by Edmonton and going down 9-0 in shots, the youth stepped up to pull the Capitals back into the game.

First, Ivan Miroshnichenko fired home a rocket of a shot for his second goal in the last four games to pull his team within one.

Minutes later on a power play, Alex Ovechkin's blocked shot bounced right onto Connor McMichael's stick, and he made no mistake to even the score and end a six-game point drought.

Zach Hyman would restore the lead shortly after McMichael's goal and make it 3-2 going into the second, but Washington was able to hang in there thanks to the speed and effort of its younger players.

Ovechkin Climbs All-Time Points Lists

On a brighter note, Ovechkin got on the scoresheet again with an assist and moved up several NHL all-time lists with the helper. He also has 29 points in his last 28 games.

Ovechkin picked up career point No. 1,534, moving him past Mark Recchi for the 14th-most points in NHL history. He also passed Joe Sakic for the ninth-most road points of all time (742).