WASHINGTON, DC — The last week hadn’t been kind to the Washington Capitals. After falling to the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday in what proved a consequential 3-2 loss, the team dealt beloved veterans John Carlson and Nic Dowd ahead of the trade deadline, leaving the group with holes both on the ice and in its leadership corps.
Coming into Monday’s game against the Calgary Flames, the Capitals sat seven points out of a playoff position, with four teams between them and the Boston Bruins for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. But even with Carlson and Dowd’s stalls empty in the locker room, their parting advice loomed large.
“We’re still in this,” said Justin Sourdif. “And that’s even the message John and Dowder left with us, is we have it in here to keep going, we could get into the playoffs, and not to give up hope. We’re not that far out of it. Not even looking at the standings, just keep taking in one game at a time, and eventually we’ll see where we go from there. But there’s a lot of belief in this group, still.”
Losing Carlson and Dowd hit the team hard, with players tearing up during interviews after the trade. The deals also made an already-fraught path to the playoffs harder: Dowd played in key defensive situations, while Carlson, an alternate captain, held a key role at all strengths on the backend.
Despite that, the Capitals likely drew inspiration from their departed peers to fuel a 7-3 victory over the Flames. After going up 3-0 in the first period, the Caps ceded the next three goals in the game to Calgary before storming back with four more of their own in a dominant third period.
Heading into more games this week, the Capitals’ postseason odds are still slim—MoneyPuck gives them just a 13.1% chance of making the playoffs. The Bruins have two games in hand over Washington, giving the Caps even less time to catch up. But even in what looks like a losing battle, head coach Spencer Carbery is confident his players will keep up the fight.
“I never have any doubt in my mind as the head coach of this hockey team whether our guys are just going to lay down — our team will not do that, no matter the circumstances,” he said. “We’re not worried about the standings. We just need to do everything we can to play well in Philly. Buffalo doesn’t matter. Anything else doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter who won tonight (around the NHL), who wins tomorrow. All that matters is us finding a way to get two points in Philly.”
