The Capitals played well in stretches during a critical week of hard-hitting hockey, including a 2-1 overtime loss to New Jersey on Sunday.
But with just 19 games left in the regular season, effort alone won’t be enough for a Stanley Cup playoff berth. Results are all that matter now.
In the midst of their worst run since Bruce Boudreau took over behind the bench on Thanksgiving Day, the Caps try to turn things around beginning with a non-conference game against the Minnesota Wild at 7 tonight at Verizon Center.
“If we play the same way we did [Sunday] let the chips fall where they may,” said Boudreau, whose team is 2-3-3 in its last eight games. “[Play] the same as we did against Carolina without the penalties, same way against the Islanders, same way against Tampa and you’re happy. You want eight points out of that and we got four. But the effort and the will and the want are there.”
Now the key is to translate that effort into points. It won’t be easy against a Minnesota team with excellent special teams — 7th-best penalty kill in the NHL and 10th-best power play — and a solid goaltender in Niklas Backstrom (23-11, 2.50 GAA).
The Wild (34-23-5, 73 points) are sixth in the Western Conference standings and second in the Northwest Division. But they have lost three games in a row and scored just three goals total in those contests. Minnesota has played in D.C. just three times in its eight-year history. The Wild’s last appearance here was a 4-3 win on Nov. 21, 2002.
