Last night’s game against the Detroit Red Wings certainly left a lot to be desired for the Washington Capitals. After an incredible effort to down the Senators on home ice on Monday, the Caps completely fell apart in Detroit in their ugliest loss all season. The second half of a back-to-back is always going to be tough, especially for a team like Washington that was missing so many key players. However, last night’s so-called “scheduled loss” did not have to be so brutal.
An overarching theme for the Washington Capitals this season: there is no middle ground, they’re either really good or really bad. Last night was definitely in the “really bad” bucket.
Three Takeaways:
- The Capitals totally left Charlie Lindgren out to dry last night. They gave him no defensive help, allowing far too many odd-man rushes and sloppy turnovers. They also didn’t offset that with any offensive support; after scoring six goals in DC on Monday, they couldn’t get anything going in Detroit. The Caps had five SOG in the first, six in the second, and 10 in the third—that’s no way to win a hockey game. With the exception of the Red Wings’ second goal, it’s hard to blame Lindgren for any part of last night’s game.
- With a goal in last night’s tilt, Hendrix Lapierre now has three goals in his last two games. Lapierre was one of the few bright spots for the Caps last night—he is clearly putting in the work to improve his game, and he’s looking more and more like an NHL player. With so many regulars out of the lineup, Lapierre is getting one heck of an opportunity to make some noise and plead his case. So far, he isn’t wasting it.
- Not to be outdone by his fellow Hershey Bear, Mike Sgarbossa had a beautiful spin and score moment in the second period to try and get the Capitals back in the game. The rest of the team couldn’t build off Monday night’s momentum, but Sgarbossa certainly did! He also now has two points (1G, 1A) in his last two games.
They Said It: