The Washington Capitals had one of the worst periods in franchise history against the Arizona Coyotes on Monday night.
The Caps surrendered five goals on 10 shots to the Coyotes in the first 20 minutes of the game. Darcy Kuemper gave up goals on the Coyotes’ first two shots to Logan Cooley and Michael Carcone. He was then pulled by Spencer Carbery after giving up a third to Nick Schmaltz on the Coyotes’ fifth shot (.400 save percentage). Charlie Lindgren tried to stem the tide, but did not fare any better. He was beat on two of the first three shots he faced as the Capitals folded.
When the period was thankfully over, the Caps retreated to the locker room down 5-0.
According to NHL stats, tonight’s first period marked the 53rd time in Capitals’ history that they’ve surrendered five or more goals in a single stanza.
The Capitals were three short of the lowly team record, which they accomplished in December 1975 per Ted Starkey. The Caps surrendered 8 goals to the Buffalo Sabres in a 14-2 loss.
Washington’s worst periods
Looking deeper into the stats thanks to Hockey Reference, the Capitals’ 5-0 first period is also the 26th time the Capitals have given up five-or-more goals and not scored any themselves. It’s only the fourth time Washington has been lit up this badly since the 2004-05 lockout.
| Date | Opponent | Scored | Allowed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974-11-16 | @ Pittsburgh | 0 | 5 |
| 1974-12-14 | @ Boston | 0 | 5 |
| 1974-12-14 | @ Boston | 0 | 5 |
| 1975-01-04 | @ Montreal | 0 | 5 |
| 1975-02-15 | @ St Louis | 0 | 5 |
| 1975-03-04 | vs Boston | 0 | 5 |
| 1975-03-15 | @ Pittsburgh | 0 | 5 |
| 1975-04-02 | @ Detroit | 0 | 5 |
| 1975-12-21 | @ Buffalo | 0 | 8 |
| 1976-01-03 | @ Montreal | 0 | 5 |
| 1976-12-10 | @ Cleveland | 0 | 5 |
| 1977-02-12 | @ Toronto | 0 | 5 |
| 1977-04-02 | @ Montreal | 0 | 7 |
| 1979-11-03 | @ Minnesota | 0 | 5 |
| 1981-12-23 | vs Boston | 0 | 6 |
| 1983-12-15 | @ Philadelphia | 0 | 6 |
| 1986-12-10 | @ Toronto | 0 | 5 |
| 1991-02-15 | @ Calgary | 0 | 6 |
| 1991-11-30 | @ NY Islanders | 0 | 5 |
| 1991-12-26 | vs NY Rangers | 0 | 5 |
| 1994-01-02 | @ Boston | 0 | 5 |
| 1995-11-10 | @ Toronto | 0 | 5 |
| 2005-10-08 | @ Atlanta | 0 | 5 |
| 2006-01-25 | @ Pittsbugh | 0 | 5 |
| 2013-02-07 | @ Pittsburgh | 0 | 5 |
| 2023-12-04 | @ Arizona | 0 | 5 |
All but three of the Capitals’ worst periods came on the road. Every single one of those games was lost by Washington.
The last time the Capitals surrendered five goals in a single period was six years ago — January 16, 2017 — against the Pittsburgh Penguins. See the box score. The Capitals and Penguins combined for nine goals in the second period. Evgeni Malkin had a hat trick while Conor Sheary, Nick Bonino, and Bryan Rust added goals. Justin Williams, Brett Connolly, and Lars Eller scored for the Caps in the period. Washington ended up losing the game 8-7 in overtime.
Headline photo: Alan Dobbins/RMNB
