Ovechkin Morning Skate The Washington Capitals were riding high on a franchise-record, road-winning streak as they visited the Dallas Stars on Monday. And coming off wins against Buffalo and at Columbus and Montreal, the Stars would be one of the more formidable opponents Washington had faced in recent days. Unfortunately, you can't win 'em all, and the Capitals dropped this one, 3-1. There are several storylines to unpack, so let me pour another coffee, and let's get into what marked Washington's first road loss since Nov. 3. STARS' COUNTER-ATTACK, DEFENSIVE GAFFES HURT THE CAPITALS Washington faced something from Dallas that they hadn't seen in a few games: a fast and fluid counter-attack. The Stars' ability to quickly take the play right back into the Washington zone was impressive. So often throughout the night, Dallas was able to quickly transition and rush back on offense. It became painfully clear quickly for anyone watching why the Stars have allowed the fewest goals in the league: they have Jake Oettinger, but also a formidable blue line that can quickly get the puck back up the ice to be a threat right away. Unfortunately for the Capitals, it meant any mistakes or poorly placed shots would lead to decreased offensive zone time and more time spent defending Dallas' offensive rush. From there, the Stars blue line was able to turn defensive errors into quality chances on Charlie Lindgren. Overall, Lindgren played another strong game, and this one shouldn't be blamed on him in any way. Several times throughout the night, an errant turnover or poor pass would force Lindgren to make a key save. For instance, Lindgren came up big on a turnover early in the third period that led to Matt Duchene's near-goal. He also stoned Oskar Bäck when he was left all alone in the slot. One of the three goals against Lindgren also went in off the hand of defenseman Rasmus Sandin. It isn't all bad on defense, though. In the first half of the game, the Capitals were able to contain Dallas' arsenal for the most part. But as Sammi mentioned in last night's takeaways [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/washington-capitals/takes/washington-capitals-takeaways-dallas-stars-1216], it was a big task to contain Dallas for the full 60, and in the end, that's what proved costly. THE OETTINGER FACTOR Jake Oettinger has made a name for himself over the years as one of the best netminders in the game, and Monday was just another reason why. Combining that with Dallas' stingy defense, it became clear that Washington's offense would have to work some kind of magic to get one past him. To start, the Capitals' offense did all the right things, getting traffic in front of Oettinger to block his field of vision and set up for deflections and rebounds. And it appeared to be working in their favor early, as Dylan Strome redirected a nasty shot from Jakob Chychrun [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/washington-capitals/features/washington-capitals-jakob-chychrun-blistering-shot-impact] past Oettinger to give the Capitals a 1-0 lead in the first. It extended both Strome and Chychrun's point streaks to four games, and Chychrun himself has 13 points in his last nine outings. Unfortunately, that was the only time that Washington beat Oettinger. He locked in for the remainder of the game and kept the Capitals without a goal, despite some grade-A chances afterward. It was bound to be interesting to watch one of the league's highest-scoring teams go against the team that allows the fewest goals. Something had to give for one side, and ultimately, Dallas emerged victorious. ROUGH NIGHT FOR SPECIAL TEAMS The Capitals' special teams were another unfortunate downside last night. While the usually excellent penalty kill allowed a power-play goal to the Stars, who went 1-for-2 on the night, the Capitals power play went 0-for-4 with only three shots on goal. Washington's power play has been trending in the right direction recently, which is good to see with Alex Ovechkin on the mend [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/washington-capitals/news/washington-cpaitals-notebook-ovechkin-update-vrana-return], but Monday's contest showed there's still room for improvement when it comes to consistency. A GAME THAT COULD'VE GONE EITHER WAY The header sums this game up pretty succinctly. This bout was a tight-checking, defensive game. Both teams would get plenty of quality chances, and both goalies would make some key stops. The advanced stats further paint this picture. Shots were nearly even, with Washington having a slight edge. High-danger chances were also nearly even, again with a slight edge to the Capitals. The only stat that heavily favored the Capitals was their Corsi-for of 57.01 to Dallas' 42.99 percent. All that means is Dallas was comfortable letting Washington have possession and throw pucks toward Oettinger, counting on saves and blocked shots in order to send the play back toward Lindgren. Capitals coach Spencer Carbery mentioned postgame that he believed that the Capitals did a lot right and "did enough to win the game." A few bounces in the other direction, and Washington comes away with another road win. If these two teams could meet in the playoffs, it would almost certainly be a seven-game series — And a fun one at that. THE ROAD AHEAD There's no rest for the weary, as the Capitals are right back at it against a struggling Chicago Blackhawks team that is 3-7 in its last 10. Surprisingly, even with the likes of Connor Bedard, Chicago is near the bottom of the league in goals-for. Washington will need to continue to have its trademark resiliency; the Capitlas have only lost back-to-back games once this season so far. Against the struggling Blackhawks, Washington should be able to bounce right back into the win column if it gets back on their game and play to its strengths. It's just important not to underestimate this opponent.
