WASHINGTON, DC — The Washington Capitals had hoped to head into the holiday break on a high note. Rookie Ryan Leonard was set to rejoin the lineup after losing seven games to a shoulder injury, giving them back a key piece of their forward corps, and a new set of lines had shown promise despite a loss in Detroit over the weekend.

Facing the rival New York Rangers at home on Tuesday, the Capitals held a 3-2 lead through forty minutes. But a disastrous third period saw them give up five goals in the final 11:50 — including two goals just 1:08 apart — in what became an ugly 7-3 loss.

Washington now has a 1-4-2 record in the last seven games before the holiday break, with its sole win coming against a Toronto Maple Leafs team in freefall. They’ve been outscored 14-28 in that span and have allowed five-plus goals on four occasions, all amid a tight playoff race in the Eastern Conference.

After Tuesday’s loss, head coach Spencer Carbery said the team’s next stretch of games after the break could prove a defining moment in the season as a whole. The Capitals have proven they can recover from a losing skid, but they’ll have to replicate that success — and soon — once they get back on the ice.

“Call it 22 games ago…we’re a .500 team in the Eastern Conference, which is sitting near the bottom,” he said. “So we had to get ourselves back into the fight. We went on a run and ended up winning 10 of whatever it was. Now we’ve hit a bit of a skid where we’re playing okay, but not getting the results that we need to. So, okay, you reset. We sit where we are. We are who we are.

“But the next portion of the season, January, is going to determine a lot of what we’re about and where this team goes. That’s just a fact, because if you look at our schedule and what we’re about to embark on at the end of December and into January, it’s go time.”

Ryan Leonard’s return should provide some scoring help — he already earned two assists in his first game back on Tuesday — but the Capitals will need more from many of their top stars. Carbery has been vocal about the Capitals’ lack of top-end finishing talent, and that assessment has borne out in recent games. Alex Ovechkin is in the midst of a season-high nine-game goal drought, while Tom Wilson (who missed Tuesday’s game with an illness) hasn’t scored in seven games. Over the last seven games, Jakob Chychrun and Aliaksei Protas are the only players with three goals.

Washington’s schedule won’t help matters as the team looks to break its skid. Starting on Saturday, the Caps will play 22 games in a 41-day period before the Olympic break in February. They’ll come back from the tournament just over a week before the March 6 trade deadline.

“It doesn’t get any easier from here on out,” Dylan Strome remarked Tuesday night.

The three-day holiday break, then, could allow the Capitals to reset and regroup before a grueling stretch ahead.

“So (the break is) a great opportunity,” Carbery said. “That’s the way that I look at it — go, get away from the game, get away from the Washington Capitals, get away from pre-scouts, anything to do with playing a National Hockey League game or preparing. Enjoy time with your family for three days, enjoy the Christmas break, and then come back, and it’s a good opportunity for us to play. We’re playing every second night for the next basically 40 days, and so that’s a great opportunity for us to show that we’re a team that can compete for a Stanley Cup.”

After the break, the Capitals will hit the road on Saturday to face the New Jersey Devils, with puck drop set for 7 pm.