They have lost three games in a row and have been shut out twice. It is arguably the worst stretch of hockey the Capitals have put together since Bruce Boudreau took over as head coach three years ago. Washington gets the chance to rebound from Monday’s humbling 5-0 loss at New Jersey with a road game at Southeast Division rival Carolina on Wednesday night.
The Caps did earn one standings point in a 5-4 shootout loss to Philadelphia on Saturday and an 0-2-1 run isn’t exactly a disaster. Washington still entered play Tuesday tied with the most points in the NHL. But it is the way those losses have occurred that is generating concern.
The Caps have been outscored 15-4 since their win last Wednesday over Buffalo. It is the first time since Boudreau was hired on Thanksgiving Day, 2007 that his team has allowed five goals in three straight games. Defenseman John Erskine called Monday’s defeat “embarrassing” and noted how his unit left rookie goalie Braden Holtby to fend for himself.
| Caps notes |
| » Washington (14-6-2, 30 points) faces Carolina (9-9-2, 20 points) 7 p.m. Wednesday at RBC Center in Raleigh, N.C. |
| » The two teams have played once this season. The Caps took a 3-0 victory over the Hurricanes at RBC Center on Oct. 27. |
| » The last time the Caps allowed five goals in three consecutive games was Jan. 11-16, 2007. |
Injuries certainly didn’t help. Defenseman Tyler Sloan missed the final two periods of the New Jersey game and Mike Green left with just over 12 minutes left in the third period. But the game was long over by then. Boudreau told reporters in Raleigh, N.C. that Sloan will miss the Carolina game. That means he will either turn to Tom Poti, who has missed 14 of the last 15 games with a lower-body injury, or Washington will have to recall a defenseman from AHL Hershey. Green is expected to play.
“I think it’s safe to say that the games in Atlanta and last night, the first period for whatever reason we came out sleeping,” said Boudreau, whose team was down 3-0 in both games after the initial 20 minutes of play. “That has to get better. More often than not our work ethic is fine. That’s why we’ve been successful. … I’m hoping it’s an anomaly.”
Meanwhile, the goaltending situation remains in flux. Michal Neuvirth was supposed to start Monday, but a lower-body injury kept him out. Boudreau turned to Holtby and the team recalled Semyon Varlamov from Hershey to serve as the backup goalie. Neuvirth is listed as day-to-day and could play against the Hurricanes, Boudreau told reporters. Varlamov played twice over the weekend in Hershey, but the team is being cautious with him as he recovers from a lingering groin injury.
