The Washington Capitals ended the home-and-home weekend with a whimper. They fell to the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in OT on Sunday.
One day after the Capitals lost 4-0 at home to Detroit, the team fared slightly better the next day, finishing with a point.
Ethen Frank netted both Capitals goals, first to take a 1-0 lead in the first, and then to tie it up in the third.
The Capitals looked strong in both the first and third periods. However, they sputtered in the middle frame, giving up two Detroit tallies.
The game headed to overtime with both teams tied at 2-2, but Moritz Seider scored the game-winner with 23.3 seconds left.
The Capitals have now lost five of their last six, as they head back home to face the New York Rangers on Tuesday night.
Capitals Analysis
Once again, Spencer Carbery made adjustments to the forward lines. Here is what they looked like for Sunday’s game.
Connor McMichael – Justin Sourdif – Alex Ovechkin
Aliaksei Protas – Dylan Strome – Tom Wilson
Brandon Duhaime – Nic Dowd – Anthony Beauvillier
Ethen Frank – Hendrix Lapierre – Ivan Miroshnichenko
The Capitals seemed to have gotten it together at first as they played very well in the opening period. Frank put his team up 1-0 when he got to the front and snuck the puck past Cam Talbot.
Then, Frank struck twice with his team down 2-1 in the third, as he fired home a feed from John Carlson. Dylan Strome also helped on both goals as he finished with two assists.
Unfortunately, special teams continues to be an issue for the Capitals, as they went 0-for-2 on the man advantage.
The Capitals’ power play is now third-worst in the league, and the team has now gone 1-for-21 since losing Ryan Leonard on Dec. 5.
Despite recent success on the penalty kill, the Capitals gave up a power-play goal from Detroit in the second period. However, the team fared much better while shorthanded on a 4-on-3 in overtime.
Charlie Lindgren had the start between the pipes and made some key saves, including in OT. The 32-year-old stopped 24 of 27 shots that went his way, but gave up the Seider tally in the extra period.
Before that goal, the Capitals did well with keeping possession of the puck. However, a mishandle eventually led to Seider being wide open for the game-winner and the home-and-home sweep.
Capitals Report Card
Team: C+
The Capitals played better on Sunday after dropping a dud at home on Saturday. However, the second period and OT result didn’t help much.
Ethen Frank: A
Frank has been a major contributor since his call-up. He scored both of the Capitals’ goals as he recorded his second multi-goal game of the season.
Dylan Strome: B+
Strome finished with two assists that led to Frank’s two tallies. He also finished with a plus-minus of +1.
Charlie Lindgren: B+
Lindgren did his best as he made some key saves and stopped 24 of 27 shots. The 31-year-old led his team to a point, despite giving up the game-winning goal from Seider.
Capitals Special Teams: C
The power-play issues continue as the Capitals went 0-for-2 on the day. The team also gave up a goal on the PK, but succeeded while shorthanded on a 4-on-3 in overtime.
Harry Lichtman is an award-winning journalist who covers the Washington Capitals for Sportsnaut. He also contributes to the sites … More about Harry Lichtman