Loss to Devils exposes 3 fatal flaws that could sink the Caps season

The Washington Capitals lost the second game 7of their home and home series against the New Jersey Devils 7-4 last night. It marked the sixth time this season the Caps have given up five or more goals in a game. The Caps power play continued its woes and the goaltending was once again not very good.

The Capitals have the firepower to outscore opponents, but they are just giving up too many scoring chances and too many goals. They seem to lose focus or make one mistake that ruins their night.

Here are three things the Caps have to address before the season slips away from them:

1. Goaltending

Last season, Logan Thompson was really good. He received votes for the Vezina Trophy, awarded every season to the league's best goalie. This year, Thompson, while sharp and times, he has been inconsistent. His save percentage is .888 and he has a whopping 3.17 goals-against average, stats that aren't going to win many games. Thompson did sit out with a lower-body, so maybe he just hasn't found a rhythm yet.

Charlie Lindgren hasn't been very sharp, either. He has an .867 save percentage and a 3.60 GAA and gave up a couple of goals last night that he probably wants back, like Evan Rodrigues' goal in the third that made it 6-4 and put the game away for New Jersey.

Those two have to play better if the Capitals want to make the playoffs, or the front office may have to upgrade. While Lindgren is solid and well-liked inside and outside of the organization, the Caps should look to see what is out there in terms of a No. 2 goalie.

2. The Power Play

The Capitals' ineffectiveness on with the extra man continues. A team with Alex Ovechkin, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Jakob Chychrun, Dylan Strome, Tom Wilson, and Alex Tuch should be pretty dangerous on the power play. So far, that is far from the case. They are inconsistent, predictable, and ineffective for long stretches this season and are having a hard time keeping the puck in the offensive zone. It was supposed to be better this year after Carbery added new assistant coach and power play guru Ray Bennett to the coaching staff.

The Caps struggle to keep the puck in the offensive zone or they stall out in the neutral zone. Last night, while on the power play in the third period, they were pestered by the Devil's forecheck and their inability to keep the puck in the Devil's end cost them.

Down 4-3, the Caps had a chance to tie it up the game, but instead coughed up the puck which led to a short-handed goal from Nico Hirschier. It was the first shortie the Caps have given up this year and proved to be the game winner.

There is good news. The young trio of Ryan Leonard, Cole Hutson and recently Ilya Protas have had some success with the man advantage. In the third period, Protas scored on the power play from a crazy angle on a great pass from Hutson to make the score 5-4. Leonard got the secondary assist and the three young dudes have shown some chemistry. The Capitals need to get it going soon.

3. Mental Lapses

The Capitals won the stat statistical battle against the Devils but lost the game. They outshot New Jersey 47- 33, won over 60 percent of their face-offs, delivered more hits, and had fewer giveaways. But the Devils went 2-4 on the power play and had Hirschier's shortie. They got two goals past Lindgren that he probably should have stopped and benefitted from the Capitals' own mistakes.

"[W]e have to learn how to play winning hockey for 60 minutes.... There’s all these situations that you are going to make mistakes in a game, but they can’t be catastrophic. That’s where you have to learn. To be a winning team in this league, to be an elite team in this league, you can’t make catastrophic mistakes." Spencer Carbery said after the game.

The Capitals as a whole have to eliminate these kinds of lapses or its going to be a rough season.

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