Courtesy: jaspersrink.com
WASHINGTON — When the Washington Capitals fell to the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 Thursday night, the topic of finishing came up once again the Caps held the lead twice, but gave the game away.
Washington held the lead at two different points during this game, but failed to take control and ultimately seal the deal on what would have been their second victory of the season. The Caps have held a lead in all four contests this season, yet only have one win to show for it.
Last night, the Capitals went into the second period holding a 1-0 lead and held a 2-1 lead before the Hurricanes knotted the game at two before the 2nd intermission.
Alexander Ovechkin added his team-leading fifth goal last night (seventh total point) off a deflected shot from defenseman Steve Oleksy. The captain said puck movement has to improve in order to the Capitals to start finishing offensive opportunities.
“We just didn’t play how we had to play,” Ovechkin said. “We didn’t move [the] puck well and I made bad decisions sometimes. Everyone knows we have one of the best power plays in the league, but we have to use it. Tonight, we did little things that cost us the game.”
Early on, it appeared as if the Capitals came out with a lot of fire and energy as they jumped out to a 1-0 lead thanks to a Jason Chimera goal. Chimera was happy to tally his first point of the season, yet wanted his team to make the most of their scoring chances in the Carolina zone.
“You have to create some energy, but you also have to create some good chances,” Chimera told reporters. “We can’t spend that much time in the [Carolina] zone and not get anything out of it.”
Despite the team’s last game being Oct. 5 against the Dallas Stars, the Capitals didn’t look lackadaisical. It was a back-and-forth hockey game as the Hurricanes seemed to dictate the pace much better than the Capitals at times.
“It was a battle back-and-forth and that’s not the way we like to play,” Capitals defenseman Mike Green said. “It was one of those games where we couldn’t find the next gear to push forward. Every time we were trying to, we took a step backwards.”
Questions about the extended layoff were asked throughout the locker room session and Capitals goalie Braden Holtby defeated the notion that the reason they lost was due to extended rest.
“I think we still had our jump,” Holtby said. “I think we got a little bit sloppy. It wasn’t like we played horrible by any means. We know we’re capable of controlling the game when it comes to the third period. We’ll definitely get better at it.”
One area of improvement that the Capitals can look at is the even-strength opportunities were converted more this game than in the past. Washington has been known as a team that relies too heavily on their power play, but scored both of their goals Thursday on 5-on-5 plays.
For the first time in 2013-14, the Capitals’ power play was shut out going 0/5 on chances. Forward Nicklas Backstrom still feels like the club has to get better when they are at full strength as a team that lives and dies by power play opportunities puts themselves in risky territory.
“We have to play good for 60 minutes,” Backstrom said. “We’re struggling a bit with that. We’ve got to play better 5-on-5.”
Throughout the hockey game, emotions were riding high between the former Southeast Division and now Metropolitan Division rivals as both clubs tallied five penalties a piece. Capitals head coach Adam Oates wasn’t too disappointed with the pace of the game as he felt both teams played hockey.
“It seemed like one of those nights where there was a different call every shift,” Oates said. “I think it’s still early in the year. Maybe, guys are a little out of position for both teams. I thought it was a good hockey game. I thought both teams played well. I thought we did a lot of good things. Tough break on the winning goal, but other than that, the pace was pretty good of the game.”
The confidence of this team still remains high despite starting 1-3-0 in their first four games. Oates echoed the idea that it’s early and there’s a reason they play 82 games in an NHL regular season.
“I don’t think it’s time to push the panic button yet,” Oates told reporters. “I thought it was a really good hockey game. Obviously, you don’t want to lose them, but the more you show up and play like that, for 60 minutes, you’re going to win your share. I think we could be 4-0 and I think we could be 0-4. Calgary is probably our worst game out of the four.”
One player that seemingly has been invisible in terms of making contributions on the ice has been Martin Erat. The 32-year-old saw his season-high for ice time Thursday with just 9:15. Keep in mind, this is the guy from the Nashville Predators who the Caps traded away former first-round pick Filip Forsberg for. You have to wonder if he still may be hurt as he has yet to tally a point in four games and has played to a -1 rating.
On the bright side, defenseman John Carlson added his first point of the season with an assist on the Chimera goal and played with a lot of energy at both ends of the ice. The forechecking efforts of 29-year-old Mihkail Grabovski couldn’t go unnoticed either.
Washington takes on the undefeated 4-0-0 Colorado Avalanche Saturday night as Patrick Roy makes his first trip to the nation’s capital as a head coach. Roy has the Avalanche playing with a lot of fire, so it’ll be interesting to see if the Capitals can respond with a win and try to match the young team’s energy.
