It was a rough night for the Capitals in a 3-1 loss to Nashville.
The Washington Capitals had been clicking on offense going into Saturday’s game in Nashville, but they couldn’t keep it going against the red-hot Predators.
T.J. Oshie scored on the power play, but Nashville capitalized on its chances and made Washington pay for its mistakes in a 3-1 loss.
Here are the takeaways from the defeat, which ended a four-game point streak for D.C.
Capitals Start On Wrong Foot, Surrender PPG
The night didn’t start according to plan for Washington, as Nashville got on the board first and tilted the ice out of the gate.
Colton Sissons capitalized on an early power play to make it 1-0, getting past the defense and tipping home a point shot. The Capitals penalty kill had been solid going into Saturday, but that misread ultimately led to a goal against.
Overall, to start, the Predators dominated in the first period, outshooting the Capitals 8-2 through the first 14 minutes of the frame.
After that, Washington picked it up, generating more pressure in the offensive zone. And in the second period, it paid off.
Capitals Power Play Scores In 2nd Straight Game
Washington was on a 5-on-3 and saw Alex Ovechkin fire a shot to the front, which went off Dylan Strome and trickled onto the goal line. From there, T.J. Oshie, who drew the second penalty, tapped it in to even the score.
The goal marked Oshie’s second goal of the season and second point in as many games, as well as the team’s second straight game with a power-play tally.
Strome is also now on a three-game point streak and has points in four of his last five games. With the secondary assist, Ovechkin is now up to 17 points on the season, tied with Strome and Tom Wilson for the team lead.
Predators Take Control Back Despite Second-Period Push, Capitals Rally But Come Up Short
Despite Washington’s pressure in the second, another mistake would prove costly, as a turnover led to a headman pass for Philip Tomasino, who got behind the defense and beat Charlie Lindgren on the breakaway to make it 2-1 going into the third.
To open the final frame, Nashville got back in the driver’s seat, with Yakov Trenin making it a 3-1 game.
With time winding down, Capitals made a big push by pulling Lindgren with 3:12 minutes left and also got a power play, but they couldn’t get anything going to solve Juuse Saros. Not only that, but the majority of Washington’s attempts missed the mark, as 21 were blocked and 18 went wide of the net.
The rally would end with a Strome penalty in the final seconds.
Top Shelf Takes
- Charlie Lindgren stopped 19 of 22 shots in his fourth start in five nights. Despite the save percentage not being in his favor, he still made some big stops when he had to.
- Ovechkin had a team-leading six shots in the loss and led all forwards in ice time. He had 14 total attempts.