The Washington Capitals’ defensive struggles continued Tuesday night, as they allowed six goals in a loss to the Dallas Stars, despite scoring five of their own against Vezina-caliber goaltender Jake Oettinger.
The Caps have allowed a combined 11 goals in their last two games, dropping back-to-back contests at home in their three-game home stand.
While the Caps showed plenty of fight in their comeback attempt, their early 4-0 deficit proved too much to overcome in the loss.
The Capitals currently rank 10th in the NHL offensively with 3.5 goals per game, but their defensive struggles have held them back recently, particularly in 5-on-5 situations.
Where the Defense is Struggling
Through 14 games, the Capitals are allowing 3.43 goals per game, the ninth-most in the NHL, behind teams like the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins who sit at the bottom of the Metropolitan.
Interestingly, their struggles haven’t been as noticeable on the penalty kill, with the Caps holding a 76% penalty-kill percentage this season, around the middle of the league.
Instead, the defensive struggles are coming in 5-on-5 situations. While the Caps continue to be productive offensively at even strength, they are struggling to limit opposing scoring chances. Washington ranks ninth-worst in the NHL in 5-on-5 expected goals against per 60 minutes, allowing 2.75.
That weakness was on display against Dallas, as the Caps surrendered five goals at even strength in Tuesday’s 6-5 defeat, continuing to move in the wrong direction.
With defensemen such as Jakob Chychrun and Cole Hutson on the blue line alongside a reliable goaltender in Logan Thompson, Washington has the personnel to be better defensively.
If the Caps hope to compete in the Metropolitan Division, these numbers need to improve sooner rather than later.
Spencer Carbery’s Thoughts
Despite the back-to-back losses, Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery emphasized the positives that he saw in Washington’s effort, particularly the team’s perseverance to fight back after falling behind.
“If we’re going to take anything out of this, there’s tons of good stuff,” Carbery said. “We’ll take the fact that in a difficult circumstance with us being down in a game, the team continued to fight.”
The Caps will have a chance to get back on track Thursday when they wrap up their three-game homestand against the Florida Panthers. It will be another difficult test for a Washington team looking to get its defensive play back on track.
Boone Jenner, who has scored two goals in the last three games, spoke to the media after Tuesday’s loss about how the Caps plan to respond against Florida.
“We know what’s at stake here,” Jenner said in response to preparing for the game against Florida. “I think we did a lot of good things tonight, and we’re gonna have to take the good and learn from some of the mistakes and bring it into Saturday, another real good test for us.”
Capitals’ Defensive Struggles Continue to Hold Back Strong Offense