The Washington Capitals’ playoff hopes took a dagger on Thursday night.
Two days earlier, they’d beaten the Philadelphia Flyers to move just a point out of the second wild-card spot, and they looked to continue a three-game win streak in New Jersey to keep their chances alive. Instead, the Capitals fell 7-3 to the Devils — a team all but eliminated from postseason contention — in a loss that could prove fatal to their season.
“Everyone knows where we’re at, and we need every point, and we need two points. So to come out with nothing stings,” Matt Roy said postgame.
Defensive errors started early. Washington, who had scored first in eight of its last 10 contests, allowed two goals in the first eight minutes of the game: one from Cody Glass on a three-on-two, then another from Dawson Mercer off his own rebound.
Despite the quick pair of goals against, the Capitals were able to bounce back just as fast. Cole Hutson got on the board 38 seconds after the Mercer goal, and Pierre-Luc Dubois tied the game on the power play 1:32 after that. From there, however, the Capitals couldn’t get a lead of their own, and once Dougie Hamilton scored a late-period goal, Washington trailed for the remainder of the night.
“I thought we shot ourselves in the foot a few times throughout the game,” Roy said. “They obviously capitalized on their opportunities and they had a lot of speed that it seemed like we couldn’t really handle tonight.”
New Jersey’s stars, in particular, took control of the game, with five-point performances for both Jack Hughes (2g, 3a) and Jesper Bratt (1g, 4a) — a new record for both players.
“Jack Hughes is a hell of a player,” said Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery. “Jesper Bratt’s a hell of a player. So when they have nights like tonight, they make it really challenging. You have to be at your utmost best on games where they play like that, and we just didn’t have an answer for it.”
The Capitals were well aware of what they were up against, but they weren’t able to prevent either Hughes or Bratt from posting career-high point totals. And with so much on the line, they weren’t interested in making excuses for the outcome.
“It’s a challenge, but it’s mistakes that in April can’t be made over and over again,” said Dubois. “It’s tough — they’re good players, obviously — (and) it’s a challenge, but we want to make the playoffs. It has to be done.”
“The little mistakes add up, and the top players in the league don’t need much wiggle room to capitalize on,” Roy added.
Though Washington got some help from the out-of-town scoreboard, with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Philadelphia Flyers, and Pittsburgh Penguins all losing games in regulation, the Capitals tough path to the playoffs has only gotten harder, perhaps beyond the point of no return.
“This is a tough game for our group, no doubt,” said Carbery. “Feel like we needed to have this.
“And irregardless of the Eastern Conference, the wild card, the Metro standings, I know how we’re going to approach it as a staff, and I know how our players are going to approach it, and we will fight until Game 82, whatever the scenario looks like.”
The Capitals (85 points) now sit three points behind the Ottawa Senators (88 points) for the second wild-card spot in the East with six games remaining in the regular season.
They’re not the only ones chasing Ottawa, either: the Capitals would have to leapfrog the Flyers (86 points), Blue Jackets (88 points) and Detroit Red Wings (88 points), or else hope for the New York Islanders (89 points) to collapse and open up the third spot in the Metropolitan Division. Doing so would require both a nearly flawless record in the final six games and significant help from the competition.
“Our backs are against the wall now, and this one stings,” Tom Wilson said after Thursday’s loss. “We were playing pretty good hockey, but I think we’ve got to throw this one out quickly, have a short memory, and move forward.”
The last-ditch path to the playoffs, if there is one left, will begin against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday. Puck drop is set for 7 pm.