The Capitals' defense faltered against the Penguins in a 5-2 loss. (Charles LeClaire — Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/c35e7ddf-d1d8-4fda-bad7-861cab322071.jpeg] The Capitals' defense faltered against the Penguins in a 5-2 loss. (Charles LeClaire — Imagn Images) It was a strange night from the moment the puck dropped at PPG Paints Arena, with the Washington Capitals going without three of their top defensemen and running 13 forwards, five defensemen and a rookie netminder for their season finale against the Pittsburgh Penguins. That said, it wasn't the best performance for D.C., and despite a strong first look at Clay Stevenson in net, a disastrous 15-second span in the third period led to a 5-2 loss to close out the regular season. Here are all the takeaways from the defeat. CLAY STEVENSON LOOKS STRONG, BUT DEFENSE FALTERS AGAIN With Charlie Lindgren getting rest ahead of the playoffs and Logan Thompson still recovering from injury, it was Clay Stevenson's turn to get his NHL debut as he made his first career start against Pittsburgh. Stevenson did what he could, and ultimately, impressed in his first taste of NHL action. He made some ten-bell stops and showcased his quick lateral movement and impressive reflexes, and fended off the Penguins for as long as he could. However, Stevenson was ultimately left out to dry as the defense, playing without John Carlson, Martin Fehervary and Matt Roy for maintenance before the postseason, struggled. The blueliners didn't pick up the open man or clear out the rebounds, and turnovers and poor reads proved costly. The penalty kill also surrendered a power-play goal, ending the team's perfect streak on the PK at seven games. In the third period, things fell apart as a miscommunication on the power play led to a shorthanded goal for Danton Heinen. Just 15 seconds later, Phillip Tomasino scored to put Pittsbrugh up 5-2, a deficit which D.C. couldn't come back from. Stevenson finished with 32 saves on 37 shots for a .865 save percentage, ultimately an impressive showing despite being left in difficult position as the Penguins outplayed the Capitals over 60 minutes and kept the pressure going. ALEX OVECHKIN SCORES 897 IN ONE LAST DUEL WITH SIDNEY CROSBY THIS YEAR, DYLAN STROME HAS POINT-PER-GAME SEASON On the bright side for Washington, the power play cashed in, as Dylan Strome fed Alex Ovechkin in the office for his 897th career goal, just minutes after Ovechkin being offside led to Strome's goal — which would have been his 30th of the season — getting overturned. His goal matched Sidney Crosby's goal on the night, though Crosby also had an assist. Ovechkin finished the year with 44 goals as he became the league's new all-time leading socrer, and also ended the season with points in nine straight games. Meanwhile, Strome, despite not getting his 30th, picked up his ninth point in 10 games and 53rd assist on the season to finish with 82 points in 82 games, marking his first point-per-game season at the NHL level. CONNOR MCMICHAEL ENDS LENGTHY GOAL DROUGHT Connor McMichael also got a confidence boost to close out the regular season, as he ended an 11-game scoring drought after tapping in a rebound from Tom Wilson. He finished off an impressive season with 26 goals and 57 points in 82 games, and this should motivate him going into the playoffs. CAN'T PUT MUCH STOCK INTO LOSS This game, though, should be taken with a grain of salt. There are obviously areas that the Capitals need to clean up, and there's a lot the team needs to dial in on if it wants to make a deep playoff run. However, the team limited its top players' minutes in the final game as it looked to finish the year unscathed before the postseason, and three top defensemen were missing while other players who don't usually play much got more ice time and longer looks. Onto the next...
