Ovechkin Morning Skate There was certainly no love lost between the Washington Capitals and Dallas Stars in what proved to be a tight, physical game on Monday. Ultimately, Washington fell short. Dylan Strome and D.C. got off to a good start, but couldn’t keep the momentum going in a 3-1 loss. Here are all the takeaways from the defeat. USUAL SUSPECTS KEEP ROLLING FOR CAPITALS AS D.C. STARTS STRONG; OFFENSE DRIES UP Once again, the Capitals got a strong showing from their regular contributors, who continue to make noise with captain Alex Ovechkin ramping up his recovery. It was Dylan Strome who got on the scoresheet with his second goal in as many games, as he tipped a rocket of a shot from no other than Jakob Chychrun past Jake Oettinger to make it 1-0 in the first period. Strome and Chychrun are both on four-game point streaks, and Chychrun has 13 points in his last nine games overall for D.C. while Strome's 38 points are tied for 13th-most league-wide. While the offense started strong, it couldn’t keep going as Oettinger was sharp with 25 saves. SPECIAL TEAMS HAS ROUGH GO It wasn't the best night for D.C. on special teams, as Washington went 0-for-3 on the power play, and then saw Dallas break through the team's stellar penalty kill. After some extended zone time, Roope Hintz cashed in from the slot on the man advantage to even the score for the Stars. Dallas' man advantage, which has struggled greatly at home, went 1-for-2. CHARLIE LINDGREN, DEFENSE CAN’T SHUT DOWN DALLAS FOR 60 Washington was in for a tall task coming into Dallas, as the Stars rank among the highest-scoring teams in the league and have a lot of talent up front. To start, the Capitals played smart, patient hockey, keeping pace with Dallas' offensive arsenal and not allowing odd-man rushes or breaks early on and playing physical. However, the team couldn’t keep it going for 60 minutes, as the defense let Dallas tilt the ice. Jakub Vrana Makes Return To Lineup The Capitals also saw Jakub Vrana make his long-awaited return to the lineup, as he drew back in after sitting out 10 consecutive games as a healthy scratch. He was supposed to go in for Hendrix Lapierre, but with Andrew Mangiapane out with illness, Lapierre stayed in the lineup in his place. Vrana skated on the third line with Lapierre and Lars Eller and had some solid plays throughout the night. It marked his first game since Nov. 21. TOP SHELF TAKES - Taylor Raddysh picked up his 10th assist of the season and matched his 14-point total from last season in 43 fewer games as he continues to make an impact on the top-6. - Brandon Duhaime and Brendan Smith dropped the gloves after quite a bit of back-and-forth and Smith taking down Tom Wilson earlier in the frame.
