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Despite making some major changes and going the distance for a point, the Washington Capitals still couldn’t get the job done against the Detroit Red Wings.
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Washington got off to the start it wanted and was able to force overtime in the third after a sleepy second, but ultimately, fell in overtime, 3-2, to the Red Wings, who swept the home-and-home series against D.C.
Here are the takeaways as Washington drops their fifth contest in the last six games.
Coach Spencer Carbery put his lines in the blender once again for Sunday’s contest, wanting to give his lineup a completely new look following the loss while igniting some offense amid a lack of chemistry up front.
On the top-6, Dylan Strome went to work with Tom Wilson and Aliaksei Protas, while Alex Ovechkin skated with Justin Sourdif and Connor McMichael. On the third line, Ethen Frank got paired with Nic Dowd and Anthony Beauvillier, and Brandon Duhaime, Hendrix Lapierre and Ivan Miroshnichenko made up the fourth line.
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Ultimately, it was Frank who helped spark Washington’s offense.
Frank utilized his speed and vision over the course of the afternoon, and ultimately, opened the scoring after a nice move to get to the front before sneaking the puck past Cam Talbot. Then, later in the third, with his team down 2-1, Frank struck again, firing home a feed from John Carlson for his second multi-goal game of the year.
The 27-year-old has been a game-changer for the Capitals since his call-up, and continues to be a key contributor and part of the lineup, providing a spark with Ryan Leonard and Pierre-Luc Dubois on the shelf.
Overall, the line changes worked well for D.C., as the team racked up a number of quality chances, while Dylan Strome also busted out for two assists.
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As has been a pattern this season, Washington could have benefitted from a better showing on special teams.
The Capitals went 0-for-2 on two critical power-play opportunities, failing to convert or really get any grade-A chances.
D.C.’s power play is the third-worst in the league and has gone 1-for-21 since losing Ryan Leonard to injury on Dec. 5.
Washington, despite recent success on the penalty kill surrendered a power-play goal to Lucas Raymond that helped the Red Wings tilt the ice in the second. However, the team continued its impressive PK in overtime, killing off a 4-on-3 to keep things alive. The Capitals have now killed 30 of the last 34 penalties overall.
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In the end, Washington needs to continue to put in work and improve on both sides of the coin, and also needs to be more consistent. While the first and third periods were good, D.C. stepped off the gas in the second, giving Detroit that extra momentum.
Making his return to the crease for the second half of a back-to-back, Charlie Lindgren stepped up and came up with quite a few key stops, including a handful of ten-bell saves in overtime.
The 32-year-old made 24 on 37 shots to help D.C. escape with a point, but ultimately, Moritz Seider fired home the overtime winner.
Before that, the Capitals had played a strong possession game, but a mishandle led to a rush the other way, leading to Seider being wide open for the game-winner.