Capitals fall to Senators on Super Sunday

Lars Eller, Washington Capitals Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Lars Eller, Washington Capitals Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Washington Capitals came out flat against the Ottawa Senators in a 4-1 loss. It was a game where the offense couldn’t’ catch a break as the Senators go a brilliant performance from Anton Forsberg. He made 33 saves on 34 shots.

The Caps power play woes continued. Alex Formenton scored shorthanded at 5:34. The Senators would double their lead to 2-0 at 15:11. The Senators led in shots 12-7 and 2-0 after one.

The Caps got on the power ironically from a power play goal in a second period that saw them outshot the opposition 15-9. It came 46 seconds in on a shot in front of the net by Nicklas Backstrom assisted by Alex Ovechkin and John Carlson. It was Backstrom’s fourth of the season.

At 18:24 the Sens answered with a goal from Brady Tkachuk. 3-1 was the score after two. The Senators extended their lead to 4-1 at 10:29 with a goal from Connor Brown. The Caps led in shots 12-5 but Forsberg was simply a brick wall. On the other end Ilya Samsonov made 22 saves on 26 shots.

Backstrom told the media:

"“You see every other team is buzzing right now and we are not. That is something we have to get back to.”"

The Caps have dropped five games in a row on home ice, all in regulation. They’re 6-9-2 since the calendar flipped to 2022. Ovechkin hasn’t scored in six games. It’s not looking good right now and it’s not too early to press the panic button.

Backstrom added:

"“I just think that everything needs to be better. We got to, I don’t know what it is, I feel like we just got to relax and try to play our game here because that is not our game.”"

The Caps record drops to 26-15-9 with 61 points. They occupy the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference with a four point lead over the Boston Bruins. It’s losses like now that could be costly down the road.

Trending. Capitals are at a crossroads for getting past the first round. light

The Caps head to Nashville to take on the Predators on Tuesday night. Maybe they’ll be luckier on the road.