Offense is desperate to find ways to score
At this point it doesn’t matter how it happens. Somehow, someway the Capitals just need a win.
The power play looked better Monday night. Their play in the defensive and neutral zones returned to at least a steady state save one key mistake. The goaltending from rookie Michal Neuvirth was fine. But in the end, none of that was enough for Washington, which dropped a 3-2 contest at Phoenix for its third loss in a row.
It was an ominous start to a five-game road trip and a game that featured some familiar themes. When defenseman John Erskine jumped into the offensive zone after a faceoff, the Coyotes pushed the puck past him and set off on a 2-on-1. That third-period score was too much for the goal-challenged Caps, who then took a four-minute minor penalty late in the game that cost themselves any realistic chance at a comeback.
| Caps notes |
| » Washington plays Anaheim on Wednesday night for the second time this season. The Caps dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to the Ducks on Dec. 15. Ryan Getzlaf scored the game-winning goal. |
| » Defenseman Mike Green missed the Phoenix game with inner-ear trauma associated with the puck he took to the head Feb. 6 against Pittsburgh. |
| » Caps coach Bruce Boudreau told reporters in Anaheim that Green’s status for the Ducks game is uncertain. |
“I don’t think it has anything to do with lighting a fire. I looked at the game [Monday] night and the only stat that I didn’t like was the one where they had three goals,” Washington coach Bruce Boudreau told reporters in Anaheim on Tuesday after an optional practice. “We outplayed them. … We controlled the play. We just didn’t score. It’s unfortunate.”
Washington looks to get back on track Wednesday night at Anaheim, a 10 p.m. start. But the Ducks are yet another team on the schedule that is hot with 14 wins in their last 18 games, including four in a row during a difficult road trip. Anaheim (32-21-4, 68 points) is in a vicious fight for first place in the Pacific Division with Dallas, Phoenix and San Jose.
“Again we’re going against a team that’s on a pretty good roll,” Boudreau said. “But we have to have the same kind of effort as we did [Monday] night and whatever happens I’ll take. Because we played, I thought, that good.”
The Caps (29-18-10, 68 points) are now under .500 since Dec. 2 with an 11-12-8 record. They continue the road trip at San Jose on Thursday, which beat them at Verizon Center last week, before returning east for games at Buffalo and Pittsburgh to close out the holiday weekend. Washington is averaging 2.65 goals per game, down from 3.82 last season, and has scored two goals or less in 19 of its last 32 games.
