Capitals Face Ugly Truth After Blowout Loss To Coyotes; Next Move As Carbery Digs Into Main Issues

For Spencer Carbery, it wasn't failing to solve Connor Ingram that made him notice how much trouble the Capitals offense was in; it was watching Arizona light up his team.

The Washington Capitals arrived back home from their five-game road swing with not much to show for it. There were some strong moments, but otherwise, the team found itself outdone and sent home packing with three telling losses. And the one common theme was the same issue that's plagued them all year: offense.

Washington managed over four goals in just one game, a 5-4 win over the Anaheim Ducks where Tom Wilson burst out for a hat trick. Besides that, the Capitals had two goals in the win over the Los Angeles Kings and one goal in losses to the San Jose Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights. And to close out the trip, they were shut out, 6-0, in a disastrous loss to the red-hot Arizona Coyotes.

Adding it all up, over the last six games, Washington is 2-4 and has been shut out twice, with just nine goals to show.

For Spencer Carbery, it wasn't failing to solve Connor Ingram that made him notice how much trouble the offense was in; it was watching Arizona light up his team.

"The most evident [part] is when I watch their power play. When I watch those guys move the puck around and the way they make those small-area plays — four-foot sauce here, five-foot sauce here, cross-ice sauce here — that's where it becomes really evident of where we need to get up on playmaking to create scoring," Carbery explained to repoters postgame.

And that's where the biggest issue lies. The Capitals aren't just failing to convert on their chances; they're failing to create plays and quality opportunities, and that's at both 5-on-5 and on the power play.

Watching Washington operate of late, there's no picture-perfect passing or strong breakouts. The creativity seems to have taken a step back, as well as the speed and quickness on the forecheck. Right now, the forward lines just don't have chemistry, and besides Tom Wilson and Dylan Strome, no one has emerged this season as a high-octane, consistent threat.

It also doesn't help that the team is only spending 38.5 percent of the time in the offensive zone this season as opposed to 44 percent of the time in the defensive zone, per NHL EDGE.

So how does the team fix it?

First, it's on the players, as Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov and more core members have to rise to the occasion amid the struggles.

Kuznetsov was a healthy scratch on Monday with Carbery hoping that it would send a message and help him hit reset, and when the Capitals reutrn to game action on Thursday, he will look to get back to his high level of play and show what Washington it they was missing.

Ovechkin, meanwhile, has just five goals in 22 games, and for the first time in his career, he is on pace to finish with under 20 goals in a season. On the birght side, he's making passes where he can. It's unclear if something is ailing him, or if this could be a sign of things slowing down, but there's still 60 games left and plenty of time for him to bust out.

Beyond the current playing roster, it may be time to bring in some reinforcements. Ethen Frank and Ivan Miroshnichenko have been capitalizing on thier chances down in Hershey, and perhaps giving some of those names a chance can help ignite a spark, or at the very least, provide a different look.

Washington is also waiting for Max Pacioretty to return to full strength, and he should add a much-needed edge to the top-6 when he returns.

That said, the trade market could also be an option. General manager Brian MacLellan noted that he and the team remain in the hunt for a top-6 forward, and though that's not an easy task given the team doesn't have the highest-valued assets to offer in reutrn, there are avenues to take.

At the end of the day, though, something's got to give, and it falls on everyone.