The Washington Capitals beat the NHL-best Boston Bruins on February 11th. They haven’t won a game since. Through four games, Washington’s opponents have outscored it 17-7; it has given up three or more goals each time. Through the four games, the Capitals allowed three power-play goals. While half of those losses are to the Carolina Hurricanes, which lead the Metropolitan Divison, the other two games have been against non-playoff opponents. The Capitals have lost four games in a row for the first time this season.
The waning started the day after the Capitals’ 2-1 win in Boston. They faced the San Jose Sharks, which sit at 7th in the Pacific Divison on Feb. 19. Washington allowed the first goal less than 3 minutes into the game and stayed behind for the rest of the game. The Capitals didn’t take ten or more shots in any period and managed only four in the second period. Erik Karlsson recorded a point on three of the four Sharks goals, and two other skaters recorded a goal and assist each.
The Capitals then hosted the Hurricanes and put up what proved to be their best performance of the week. Carolina ultimately won 3-2, but the Capitals tied the score twice. Washington out-shot Carolina in two of three periods and won 59% of the faceoffs. Captain Alex Ovechkin did not play that night, having left the team indefinitely earlier that day due to his father’s death, which he announced on Feb. 15.
In their next game, the Capitals went down 3-0 to the Florida Panthers in the first half of the game. Despite an attempted second-half comeback, Washington allowed two goals in the last three minutes to lose 6-3. The loss set the Capitals back in the standings enough that the Capitals were not in a playoff spot before Saturday’s Stadium Series. It was the first time the Capitals sat outside the playoffs since December.
On Saturday night, Tom Wilson played for the first time since he sustained a lower-body injury on January 24. He was the only Capital to score, saving the Capitals from being shut out. However, his goal came too late in the game to impact the outcome. The Hurricanes scored the first goal only 2:11 into the game, then scored three times in five and a half minutes during the second period. Those three goals came on 12 second-period shots. The Capitals didn’t reach ten total shots on goal until after the halfway point of the game.
The Capitals will have two days off before their next game, which is on Feb. 21. Those two days might be enough time for Nic Dowd to be ready to play. Dowd has been out since he took a hit early in the Capitals’ January 16 game against the New York Islanders. He practiced with the team leading up to the Stadium Series but wasn’t in warm-ups. Dowd is a strong faceoff performer (50.92%) and a leading penalty killer–he averages 2.22 minutes of short-handed time on ice per game this season.
Though the team as a whole has underperformed, a few players have done well throughout the week. Defender Erik Gustafsson is now up to 26 assists this season after helping on all three Capitals goals versus Florida. That total puts him second on the team in assists, behind Evgeny Kuznetsov. Forward T.J. Oshie and fellow defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk both had at least one point in two of the four games.
The Capitals’ next opponent, Detroit, is currently 12th in the Eastern Conference and lost its most recent game, but is 7-3-0 overall through its last ten games. Washington will then face the Anaheim Ducks, the current worst team in the NHL. The Ducks are also on a four-game losing streak and will be playing the two Florida-based teams on back-to-back nights before visiting Washington on Thursday.
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