As Frustration Mounts & Capitals Look To Break Out Of 4-Game Slide, 'The Name Of The Game Is Execution'

It's easy to sense the frustration among the Washington Capitals right now.

After dropping their fourth straight game, this time a 4-3 decision to a Vancouver Canucks team that sits last in the standing and had lost 11 straight entering Wednesday's contest, the Capitals were again left looking for answers to issues that have been evident since the start of December.

"At the end of the day, we're just making too many big mistakes," coach Spencer Carbery said postgame after the loss to Vancouver. "I sound like a broken record, but that's just the reality of it. We're making massive, massive mistakes. And it's throughout — you just can't in this league, it's just too competitive. You just cannot give free goals, and that's what we're doing too much."

Diving into the exact struggles, the Capitals' main issues appear to stem at 5-on-5, with special teams seeing a recent boost and even providing D.C. with an early 2-0 lead against the Canucks.

Since Dec. 5, Washington ranks 10th-worst in Corsi-for percentage at 5-on-5 (47.74 and has given up the third-most shots in the NHL over that span (562). Overall, at even strength, lapses in coverage have become an apparent issue, along with inconsistency through 60 minutes.

It doesn't go unnoticed, or ignored, in the Capitals' dressing room with the standings getting tighter. But as John Carlson pointed out, the team needs to translate those desired changes to the ice.

"We talk about it ad nauseam," John Carlson said of the team's woes. "We address it, and there's no hiding in here. We know where our games at and what we need, what we expect from each other."

Having watched from up top over the previous eight games due to injury, Tom Wilson noted that Washington's struggles have nothing to do with a lack of trying, but instead, defensive breakdowns that need to be resolved before anything else.

'It’s tough, you’re paying every other night. We gotta defend better, that has nothing to do with the legs or energy, we’re just giving them too many odd-man rushes, we’re giving them too many times where we lose coverage and the guy’s all alone on (our goaltender)," Wilson said. "I think we’re going to have to look ourselves in the mirror, defend a little bit better and then from there, we’ll worry about the offensive end once we get there."

As Wilson pointed out, improving from there will help the team's transition game, where Washington can then shift its focus to generating more chemistry and urgency on offense.

Now that the lineup is back to full strength, there should be more consistency in the lines, which will translate to better results. But at the end of the day, it comes down to finishing and getting more on goal, one way or another.

"(There's) talking about it, and then you got to execute. I think that's the name of the game, is execution," Carlson explained. "Whether it's making the right plays to get out of the zone or making the right plays in the o-zone to get a scoring chance, or when you do get a scoring chance, to bear down and score. I think we need to gather more of those key moments each game, and we got to learn pretty quick." 

The Capitals had off Thursday as they traveled to Alberta, where they'll look to end their losing streak and get back on track in a back-to-back against the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers.