The Washington Capitals came out of the holiday break and laid two eggs. They were outscored by the New York Rangers and New York Islanders a combined 10-2. After a slew of games before Christmas that looked more positive for the team overall, the Capitals have seemingly fallen into the same negative trends that plagued them earlier in the season.
First and foremost, their inability to rack up offense and take advantage of their scoring chances is evident once again. And, those persisting issues were a large topic in the postgame locker room.
Head coach Spencer Carbery in particular highlighted how hard his team has to work to win games due to how scarce goals are for them.
“I thought our first [period] overall was fairly solid and then just things progressively [got worse],” Carbery said. “It’s hard to sum up a game like that in one play but that one sequence in the offensive zone is so emblematic – like things look really good for our group offensively and it looks like there’s movement and then Sandy (Rasmus Sandin) turns it over and next thing you know you’re down 1-0. So, you go from such a positive situation to now being down 1-0.”
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) December 30, 2023
The Capitals still rank second-to-last in goals per game this season with a measly 2.3 tallies per outing. Overall on the year, the Capitals rank above only the league-worst San Jose Sharks (9-24-3) in terms of total goals scored this season and they do by just two markers.
Fewest goals
This season as of December 30, 2023
| Team | Total Goals | Games Played | Goals Per Game |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose Sharks | 74 | 36 | 2.06 |
| Washington Capitals | 76 | 33 | 2.30 |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 86 | 35 | 2.46 |
| Anaheim Ducks | 90 | 35 | 2.57 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 95 | 34 | 2.79 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 98 | 33 | 2.97 |
| Seattle Kraken | 98 | 37 | 2.65 |
| Boston Bruins | 102 | 33 | 3.09 |
| St. Louis Blues | 102 | 35 | 2.91 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 103 | 35 | 2.94 |
With the Capitals scoring so few goals, it leaves little room for error.
“We just gotta do more,” Carbery said. “Everybody has gotta do more and I felt like we had some decent looks. For us, those don’t go in or aren’t going in for us in those spots and so it’s challenging to play when you just can’t crack, can’t make one mistake because you know if you get down one, it’s just hard for us to get one. So, now you start to press and we do some uncharacteristic things because guys know at that point that because we’re so scoring deficient it becomes you’re really chasing it and now forcing it and all of a sudden giving up stuff the other way.”
Specifically in Friday night’s loss, Carbery was concerned with how the Capitals played against the Islanders’ top line of Anders Lee, Mathew Barzal, and Bo Horvat. With that trio on the ice at five-on-five, New York saw massively positive differentials in shot attempts (+17), scoring chances (+10), and high-danger chances (+4).
That Islanders line combined on the team’s second goal by Noah Dobson which ended up being the game-winner. Horvat had two assists in the game.
Dobson nets one! pic.twitter.com/TlvY5wvLNy
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) December 30, 2023
“We’ve gotta do a better job of playing against those top players in the league,” Carbery said. “I felt like we did a pretty good job against Tampa, against Point and Kucherov. But tonight, I thought, on a couple things, you have to stress them and we didn’t stress that line. They had the puck and that’s a problem because they’re some of the best players in the world so they’re going to make a play off entry. Barzal drops it, Noah Dobson shoots it into the back of the net. Those are the things that right now are happening against us and obviously we’re not creating those opportunities.”
John Carlson, who played over 10 minutes at five-on-five against Horvat, also believes that the team’s issues stem from the offensive zone and spread backwards from there.
“We’re having trouble getting to the middle as much as we would like,” Carlson said. “The chances that we do have are definitely not going in either. There’s a combination of everything but I think that stretches, especially tonight, we just felt disconnected. Whether it’s a breakout, a line rush, a sort out coming back, all those sort of things.”
The Capitals will need to try and solve some of their issues if they want to avoid a three-game losing streak out of the break on Saturday night. They’ll host the Nashville Predators who are already without a win in their last three contests.
As for what the exact prescription is to solve the team’s ailments, locker room leader Tom Wilson believes that is starts with hard work.
“Last couple games hasn’t been good enough offensively, obviously,” Wilson said. “You gotta kinda work though it. It’s one of those things where you maybe have to put your head down and work for each other and try to get open when the guy with the puck is looking for a play. Work away from the puck, that sort of thing. We gotta find a way to crack through when we’re having those momentum swings in our favor. We gotta find a way to put it in the back of the net.”
Screenshot courtesy of Capitals
