There are a couple of things one could point to that led to yesterday’s loss, including the inability to keep noted goal-scorer Charlie McAvoy from scoring two of the dumbest goals imaginable and the continued ineptitude in the shootout. Those are both perfectly valid reasons – and it’s also perfectly valid to note that the Caps got excellent penalty-killing and timely scoring, which is why they ended up with a point in the first place.
But let’s talk about the huge elephant that has once again plunked itself down in the middle of the room: the power play.
Halfway through the third period against the Bruins, McAvoy scored to eliminate the one-goal lead the Caps had taken roughly seven minutes early. A few minutes later, Nikita Zadorov took a penalty, putting the Caps on the power play for the second time of the afternoon – the perfect time for the Caps to not only take the lead, but snatch the momentum back.
They came up empty and the Bruins killed it off.
But just 34 seconds after Zadorov’s penalty expired, it was Hampus Lindholm’s turn to head to the penalty box, giving the Caps another golden opportunity to take control of the game.
And once again, they failed to do so.
It wasn’t even the worst the power play has looked this season – they did generate a number of chances, and sometimes, yes, you have to tip your cap to the opposing team’s penalty kill and/or goaltender (in this case, Jeremy Swayman was terrific).
But when it’s been a pattern all season, when you’re in this position largely because things like the power play have dried up and the even-strength offense isn’t there to balance things out, it’s gonna hurt.
The Capitals have scored at least one power-play goal in just 27 of their 68 games played. They currently sit five points out of a playoff spot – aka the equivalent of a trio of wins, a few regulation games going to overtime, or a few overtime/shootout losses going the other way. It’s not hard to imagine that deficit being a lead in the standings if the power play could find even the smallest amount of footing.
It simply hasn’t been able to do that, and yesterday was just another example of how it’s hurting them in the playoff race.
The good (“good”?) news is the Caps are, inexplicably, still in that playoff race…although it’s getting late, and it’ll be an extremely tough road to get there. They get their next shot at attempting to climb the ladder when they face yet another team in the wild card hunt, the Ottawa Senators, on Wednesday night.