The wheels have fallen off for the Capitals at the worst possible time.
WASHINGTON — The wheels have fallen off at the worst possible time for the Washington Capitals.
Just over a week ago, the Capitals were fueled by belief, which helped them claw their way back into the playoff conversation and comfortably stake a claim for the second Wild Card spot.
Now, they're the losers of four straight and once again on the outside looking in, as they lost their second Wild Card spot to the New York Islanders on Thursday following a 4-1 loss in the biggest game of the year against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
But what's the biggest issue?
Right now, it's the offense; Washington has just six goals in the last four games, with just half of those being even-strength tallies. While the power play has goals in three straight and has led the league since Feb. 8, it at times lacks urgency, and is 3-for-13 in this crucial stretch. The Capitals are also struggling to get shots on goal, and when they do make a push, it's come too little, too late.
"Yeah I think we try to create, extra pass, you know? We holding puck a little bit longer, trying to find the pretty play. It's not gonna work, especially in that kinda moment in the season when everybody concentrate on the win, everybody play a little bit faster," captain Alex Ovechkin said. "You have to make a decision quicker."
Max Pacioretty agreed, adding that the team has gotten away from the identity that works down the stretch.
"You know when we're going there, we like the continuity of guys jumping over the boards, feeling comfortable with each other. When you don't score, you try to look for other answers... we know what we have up front and we know our recipe for scoring goals, it's gotta be ugly this time of year, but sometimes that extra 5-10 percent effort or chemistry or whatnot is the difference between scoring or not."
All the while, Washington has given up 18 goals over the last four games, as giveaways, poor coverage and bad decisions have plagued the defense and Charlie Lindgren.
"Every time we give up those chances, it's not good unless Chucky really bails us out... Just not good enough," Dylan Strome said bluntly back on Wednesday after a 6-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.
Going forward, the Capitals know there's no margin for error. There's one point standing between them and third in the Metropolitan Division, and they're right back at it on Friday against the Carolina Hurricanes.
"We have enough veterans in here where we know we can't dwell... If you let two points slip (against Carolina) because of your frustration with (Pittsburgh), then that's a rookie mindset," Pacioretty said. "So we have enough veterans in here to keep the guys sharp and make sure that we come out with a really good effort.
"We have too many important games coming up to be stewing on the past. Kinda think we're due, and just got to keep it coming," Trevor van Riemsdyk added. "I don't think we need any extra motivation. We see how tight it is with a bunch of teams vying for not very many spots. So it's hugely important and I think the great thing about this group is when the pressure dials up, we got a lot of guys that thrive under that."
At the end of the day, Ovechkin is confident in his group with seven games left on the regular season circuit, and the message is to keep pushing until the horn sounds on April 16.
"We still in, we still in the battle," Ovechkin said. "We just have to keep fighting, you know? That's it."