#3 Inconsistent throughout 2020
If there’s any positive about the season being paused maybe it’s that the Washington Capitals needed the rest. Since late December, the Caps weren’t exactly as elite as they were in the beginning of the season.
Following their shootout loss to the Buffalo Sabres on the road which was their last game before the pause the Capitals were 15-14-3 dating back to Dec. 23 and only had back to back wins once since January.
What’s the most glaring about this inconsistency is the Caps will get up for big games. In fact that was exactly the case in their previous game in Pittsburgh against the Penguins which was one of their biggest wins of the season. They couldn’t carry that same momentum against a team coming into the game having lost six in a row in the Sabres.
Todd Reirden told Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic after the Sabres game (subscription required):
"“That’s not what we’re looking for. Overall, though, our play in the last few games has been better, even if you go back to games where we didn’t like the result. In the last 10 days it is headed in the right direction in some areas, for certain. But we just got to continue to realize that for us, our best efforts come with getting off to a good start and playing like we did in the third period; we’ve got to do that for a full 60 minutes.”"
That will be the biggest goal whether the season resumes in the summer or we shift our focus to next season. The Caps need to play more full 60 minute games.