Ethen Frank speaks after the Capitals' 3-2 OT loss to the Canadiens. As the Washington Capitals continue to battle through a rough patch in their season, they played host to the Montreal Canadiens for the final time this season. And of all the games the Capitals have played so far, that was certainly one of them. While there are certainly some positives about yesterday’s game, this is another game we’ll all want to forget pretty quickly, which is good since Washington takes to the road Saturday for a content with the Nashville Predators. Let's dive into last night a bit and preview the game against the Predators. ETHEN FRANK LOOKED THE PART IN HIS NHL DEBUT I can only imagine the amount of imposter syndrome a player must have in their first NHL game…especially when the team rosters some NHL greats like Alex Ovechkin. I know I’d have those thoughts anyway. Last night, undrafted 26-year-old forward Ethen Frank, freshly called up from the Hershey Bears, made his NHL debut after a few very impressive seasons in the AHL. Frank has been putting up impressive numbers in the minors, with 20 goals and eight assists in 35 games so far this season with Hershey. He also holds the fastest skater record at the AHL All-Star Classic at 12.915 seconds, the fastest time in either the AHL or NHL, mind you. Last night, after taking his rookie lap and settling into the game, you’d have thought Frank had been with the Caps for the whole season. He didn’t look out of place or disconnected from the play, as Lars Eller pointed out postgame [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/washington-capitals/takes/washington-capitals-live-locker-room-montreal-canadiens-11025]. And boy, can this dude fly. On more than one occasion, Frank showcased his speed. He managed to negate a couple of icing calls, one of which he converted into Eller's game-tying goal that helped D.C. secure a point. Can we take a second to appreciate how smart of a play this was? Frank charges in and beats out the icing call by an inch. With Habs defender Arber Xhekaj barreling towards him, he calmly plays the puck right by him, makes his own space and finds Eller for the goal. Overall, despite the loss, Frank should be very happy with his performance in his debut, and so should the Capitals. He logged 10:28 of ice time across 16 shifts and got the apple in his first game. I’ve been a fan of Frank’s since last season when he started becoming a true force in the AHL, and I’m hoping he finds a place with the big club. POWER PLAY NEEDS HELP Washington came out in the first period on a mission. They looked solid and like they may be getting over whatever rough edges they’ve developed recently. Getting an early power play chance, the Capitals did not disappoint. A bad clear attempt by Montreal went right to the stick of Jakob Chychrun, who had (what felt like) literal minutes to snap off a perfect shot past rookie goalie Jakub Dobes, giving Washington an early 1-0 lead and all of the momentum. See what I mean? Chychrun could’ve gone to the bench and made a phone call in the amount of time he was given to fire this one into the net. Beautiful shot, and a beautiful way to start the game. Beyond that, there weren't many positives on the man advantage, as the Capitals failed to capitalize on any of the other three opportunities they were given on the power play. Now, not scoring is one thing. Becoming a liability is another, and a botched play by Rasmus Sandin gave Josh Anderson a clear breakaway and a short-handed goal that gave Montreal a 2-1 lead in the second period. If this were an isolated event, I wouldn’t make a big deal about it. But it’s clear that this power play unit is still in need of some work. While they’ve managed to climb up out of the basement in the NHL in terms of ranking, Washington's not really converting on quality set plays, and more often than not, passes are missed, pucks are fumbled and the team loses momentum at a time where a PPG could mean the difference between a win or loss. I can imagine this is something that Spencer Carbery and company are working hard at addressing. But I do hope this unit at least manages to find some form of fluidity soon. April will be here before we know it. AN UGLY GAME As I mentioned in my last deep-dive, Montreal has been surging of late and is starting to become the team coach Martin St. Louis has been pushing them to be. The Canadiens have serious scoring threats in Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki, speed across the lineup and a hunger to grow into a true threat in the league. The second period started off with Brandon Duhaime shoving Suzuki into Charlie Lindgren, which ended his night with an upper-body injury. Lindgren did not return and is being evaluated. Lindgren leaving the game after a stellar showing through the first 20 minutes and change was a bad sign of what was to come for Washington. Going into the second, Montreal brought a sense of energy and vigor that Washington must’ve left in their locker room. While the second period has been a weaker period for D.C. this season, this was the second consecutive period that the team was absolutely dominated and saw the ice tilted the other way. On Friday, the Habs outshot the Capitals 13-4 in the second period, leading to a one-goal lead for Montreal. Two nights before, D.C. was outshot 21-4 in the second by the Vancouver Canucks. Neither goal is one I’d put on Logan Thompson, who wasn't expecting to play at all. On the first, Caufield was left all alone for an easy backdoor goal, and the second was the aforementioned short-handed breakaway for Anderson. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjEyMDQ1MjIwMDI2NTI1Njcy/img_0249.jpg] The third period was a bit kinder to Washington, who managed to force overtime and got a couple of more scoring chances. But at times, the team also seemed to go into survival mode after Eller scored the tying goal. While the Capitals did manage some shot attempts, the above stat is correct, as the last registered shot on Dobes came with 7:33 left in the third period. In overtime, Washington didn’t really do much with the puck before Suzuki buried the game-winner on a miscue just 1:15 minutes into the extra frame. I’m not really sure what’s going on with the Capitals as of late. The team that not only thrived prior to Alex Ovechkin's injury, but powered through and did well while he was nursing his leg back to health, seems to be struggling with building and keeping momentum through 60 minutes. As I said previously, we don’t need to sound the panic alarms yet. This team is still finding ways to get points, but this a rut they need to dig out of quickly. The Capitals have enough talent to be a threat come playoff time, but they need to figure themselves out pretty quickly to carry some winning momentum going forward. UP NEXT Luckily, no one has time to dwell on this game. Washington hits the road for a tilt in Nashville, marking the team's last meeting with the Predators this season. These two clubs last met on Nov. 6, when Ovechkin scored the game-winner in a 3-2 win. While the Predators have been playing a bit better since then, they’re still a team struggling to find their identity and consistency. That said, the Capitals need to be ready and need to be better. Nashville has the lowest rate of scoring in the league currently, at an average of 2.44 goals per game. They are a bit more solid on the defensive side, sitting near the middle of the pack with 3.12 goals against per game. This is a perfect opportunity for Washington to start patching some holes and righting this ship. A solid defensive effort coupled with a more cohesive offense should power Washington right back into the win column. STICK TAPS FOR CRAIG LAUGHLIN Last night, Capitals broadcaster Craig Laughlin announced he will be missing time with an “upper-body injury” jokingly, before revealing he will be needing heart surgery in the near future. Laughlin has always brought a fun presence to Caps’ broadcasts alongside Joe Beninati. When I first moved to the D.C. area, I had previously heard Beninati covering other games nationally in the playoffs, but Laughlin’s colorful color commentary showed a clear love and admiration for both the game and the players that play it every night. It was obvious from the get-go how much he loves calling Caps games. Hopefully, Locker is doing well, and his surgery goes smoothly and without complications so he can get back to doing what he loves quickly.
