The Capitals got outplayed on Black Friday as their hot streak came to an end.
WASHINGTON — For the Washington Capitals, Friday was a game that, on paper, should have been theirs against a struggling Edmonton Oilers team. But, minutes after puck drop, the post-Thanksgiving match spiralled out of control, and there was no coming back from it.
At the end of the day, Washington got outplayed, and a slow start, poor (and at times, questionable) penalties and a lackluster showing offensively resulted in a 5-0 loss, putting an end to a memorable five-game winning streak.
Here are all the takeaways live from D.C.
Capitals Suffer Slow Start In 2nd Straight Game, Team Outplayed By Oilers From Start To Finish
Like Wednesday, the Capitals suffered from a slow start, and it proved costly as some unfortunate bounces also led to the Oilers going up 2-0 early.
The defensive coverage in front of Lindgren was faulty, as neither Alex Alexeyev nor Trevor van Riemsdyk could clear the crease before Evander Knae entered the paint and jammed home a loose puck.
Minutes later, Connor McDavid's centering pass deflected off traffic in front of Lindgren, and Nugent-Hopkins batted it in out of mid-air to put Edmonton up 2-0. The goal was reviewed for a potential high stick, as Nugent-Hopkins appeared to have his stick over the crossbar before batting it in, but it was deemed a good goal.
Going into the second, Washington was not only trailing 2-0 but was being outshot 21-6, with Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Edmonton's offense all over Lindgren.
In the end, Washington was ultimately outdone by Edmonton, who outshot the team 34-24 by the time things were said and done.
Questionable Calls, Penalty Kill Woes Lead To 3 Straight PPGs For Edmonton
After Nugent-Hopkins' good goal, the Capitals felt they were on the wrong side of the calls being made on Friday, and it didn't help that the penalty kill, which had been the backbone for the team since the start of November and ranked second overall at 95 percent over that span, saw its reign come to an end against the high-flying Oilers.
Washington saw Edmonton make quick work of back-to-back calls against Tom Wilson and John Carlson. Wilson had gone to the box for roughing after a scrum ensued along the boards, leading to a PPG for Evan Bouchard.
Immediately after that power-play goal, Carlson swatted the puck out of the net, and the bench door was slammed. It's unclear what the exact cause was, but Carlson was tagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, leading to another PP opportunity and another PPG, this time for Leon Draisaitl.
Later in the frame, Nic Dowd got called for delay of game and Draisaitl again struck with Lindgren down in his cage after a big stop.
After shutting down 24 straight penalties and 25 of 26 overall over the course of 11 games, Washington gave up goals on three straight opportunities.
5-on-5 Offense, Power Play Doesn't Show Up, Capitals Lines Change As Oshie Leaves With Injury
As mentioned above, the Capitals were outplayed, plain and simple, but it also didn't help that the offense is still struggling, especially against an Oilers team currently dealing with defensive woes and problems in net.
Washington's forecheck couldn't get much going, managing just shots. Not only that, but the power play remains scoreless through 10 games, going 0-for-28 over that span after failing to convert on five power-play chances against the Oilers. Alex Ovechkin did technically have a PPG, but it was waved off after the face-off was declared a misdraw.
To make matters worse, T.J. Oshie suffered an upper-body injury on a questionable open-ice hit by Mattias Ekholm, which went uncalled. He was down on the ice for several minutes before being helped off by Jason Serbus and Connor McMichael, and he did not return to the game.
While several factors went against the Capitals in Friday's loss, the biggest issue was that the team didn't come ready to produce. As a result, the lines tweaked mid-game, with Evgeny Kuznetsov going back up to work with Alex Ovechkin as Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Aliaksei Protas got shifts working on that top unit. The only line that stuck together was the fourth of Nic Dowd, Beck Malenstyn and Aube-Kubel, who got some double shifts.
Top Shelf Takes
- Wilson led Washington with six shots.
- Lindgren came up with some big stops despite the loss.
- Alex Alexeyev left with injury after blocking a shot late in the third.