The Capitals haven’t strung together two wins since returning from the All Star Break. And even more surprising is Braden Holtby hasn’t put two wins together since he won four in a row from November 27th to December 6th. So it’s been over two months since Holtby has won two in a row… that’s weird. Needless to say this was a big game for both Holtby and the team in order to find consistency going down the stretch.
And though the Arizona Coyotes have been mediocre for the last couple months they still have Capitals number. In their history, the Coyotes are 33-32-12 are against Washington, which isn’t crazy good but it actually is when you consider the Coyotes have been very bad just about their whole history since their existence.
Unfortunately, the Coyotes continued that trend by beating the Capitals 1-3. The Capitals are now 4-8-1 in Arizona since 2000 and 2-7 since 2009. For some reason the Capitals just can’t win in Arizona. Maybe it’s the crappy ice?
Plus: Holtby was very strong for his second straight game. Even though he didn’t get the win it’s good to see him string together a couple great games. The Capitals will need that going down the stretch and into the playoffs.
Minus: Losing to Arizona. It wasn’t a bad game but wasn’t a great game. Losing to such mediocre teams is the Capitals calling card. Still doesn’t make it any less annoying.
Some notes on the game:
So the road trip goes to 1-1, and the Caps look to swing the balance in a building that has some fond memories in it for them: T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.