Scoring woes add up to frustration, dismay
You can see it in their faces now. A year ago the Capitals were the best offensive team in the NHL. They scored goals when and how they wanted to, and no other team was even close.
Now? The postgame scene in recent days tells the story. A team that has topped three goals just twice since Dec. 2 — 21 games — is routinely flustered by the question: What’s wrong? Center Nicklas Backstrom bluntly said after the Vancouver game Friday that “if I had the answer, I would give it to you.”
And it isn’t just him. Alex Ovechkin’s voice strained after a 3-2 overtime loss to Philadelphia on Tuesday as he ticked off what Washington needs to do — generate more shots, crash the net, stop allowing early goals. This current 2-2-3 stretch is not bad compared to the frustrations the Caps experienced in December, of course. But the goal drought has continued even as the wins and losses have stabilized. And that cuts to the identity of the current group.
Washington has trailed entering the third period in the last five games — losses to Florida, Tampa Bay, Vancouver and Philadelphia and a win over Ottawa. They erased a 3-0 lead against the Panthers, tied the game in the third period and lost in overtime. They scored in the third against the Canucks to cut the lead to one and pushed hard for the tying goal before falling short in regulation. They scored three times against the Senators in the third to rally. They scored twice in 40 seconds against the Flyers in the third period to tie it before again losing in overtime. So why wait so long to turn up the offensive pressure?
| Caps notes |
| » Washington (25-14-8, 58 points) continues its three-game road trip on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the New York Islanders (14-23-7, 35 points). |
| » Caps goalie Michal Neuvirth, removed from Tuesday’s loss because of a lower-body injury after the first period, was sent home to Washington on Wednesday for further evaluation. |
| » Rookie goalie Braden Holtby was recalled from Hershey of the American Hockey League on Wednesday. He has appeared in five games with the Caps this season. |
“We’d like to be able to do it for the whole game. I am not in their heads,” Caps coach Bruce Boudreau said after the loss to the Flyers. “We couldn’t open it up the whole game. We don’t have the firepower right now. We have to play it defensively a little bit, but it’s tough when you are behind in the first three minutes.”
The Caps did not earn a single power-play opportunity against the Flyers, so that unit remains at 18.1 percent, which is 18th overall. Washington is now averaging just 2.79 goals a game — 14th in the NHL. That is more than a goal off last year’s 3.82 pace, which was tops in the league by 0.55 a game.
