The effort was there this time, but the result was the same for the Capitals as a relentless comeback fell just short in a 3-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche at Verizon Center on Saturday night. But while it was the fifth loss in a row for Washington – and concluded a miserable four-game homestand – the Caps showed more than enough life to be encouraged. Now they need to build on that in 24 hours at Madison Square Garden when they face the New York Rangers. Otherwise a minor slump could morph into something much worse. They hope a corner was turned on Saturday.
“That looked more like our team tonight,” said Caps coach Bruce Boudreau. “But when things aren’t going well that’s what happens. But it’s on the upswing. It’s not on the downswing. If we have an effort like that tomorrow we might get rewarded for it.”
Washington fell behind 3-1 after a cross-checking penalty and a game misconduct on forward Alex Semin led to a Colorado power-play goal at 9 minutes, 53 second of the second period. That was an untimely decision by Semin, to say the least. But the Caps at least killed the final 1:14 of the major penalty and from then on dominated the game.
Washington finished with 42 shots on goal, including a 16-5 margin in the third period. Matt Hendricks registered a power-play tally at 4:30 of the third to cut the Avalanche lead to 3-2 and his team had multiple chances to tie the game late as it pressed forward at every opportunity. The Caps just never received that final positive bounce.
“That’s hockey. You’re going to have those nights,” said Hendricks, who Boudreau tabbed as the best player on the ice for his team. “Play like that every night you’re going to win more games than you lose. And that’s a good thing right now.”
Michal Neuvirth (23 saves, 26 shots) allowed a shaky goal just 2:14 into the game. A facoff win by Colorado center Paul Stastny went to defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk on the right wing. He took the puck down near the goal line and sent a bad-angle shot that slipped through Neuvirth’s pads. Boudreau later claimed the puck was tipped on its way across.
Washington forward Alex Ovechkin helped tie the game at 9:45 of the first period. He charged up the left wing and had the puck slip off his stick and through the legs of defenseman Ryan O’Byrne. He quickly recovered it, fired another bad-angle shot on goalie Craig Anderson (40 saves) and watched Mike Knuble knock the rebound out of the air and in. That was Knuble’s 250th career goal.
But a defensive breakdown proved costly with 81 seconds left in the first period. Both defensemen Scott Hannan and Tom Poti were caught on the same side of the ice after a poor line change as Stastny brough the puck into his offensive zone. That left the opposite side wide open. Defenseman Ryan Wilson jumped into the play, took the easy pass from Stastny and had all the time and space in the world to beat Neuvirth and make it 2-1. It was the second game in a row Washington has allowed a go-ahead goal late in a period. Florida scored with just one second left in the second period on Thursday.
Semin retaliated after what he saw as one too many whacks and slashes from Liles. Boudreau thought the hit wasn’t as hard as it looked live, but conceded his player extended his arms and made contact with Liles’ head. The officials nailed Semin with the major and ejected him from the game. That made three big mistakes by Washington and the Avalanche took advantage of every one.
“When you go through a slump as a group you don’t just start winning again,” Knuble said. “You have to start playing well first and start climbing the mountain back up. Hopefully we’ve been to rock bottom and are starting to get some traction again.”
