Capitals vow to ‘give it our all’ following Game 3 loss to Rangers

WASHINGTON -- The Washington Capitals are staring down a grim reality following a 3-1 loss to New York Rangers in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Capital One Arena on Friday.

For three frustrating games, the Rangers have had an answer for almost everything the Capitals have done, particularly on special teams. Now, the Capitals need to find a few answers of their own or they’ll be swept out of this best-of-7 series in Game 4 here Sunday (8 p.m. ET; MAX, MNMT, truTV, MSGSN, TBS, MSG, SNP, SNO, SNE, SN360, TVAS).

“We’ve just got to keep keeping our head up and keep battling,” Capitals defenseman John Carlson said. “We were down on the mat plenty of times this year. I love this group and we’re going to give it our all and freaking turn this thing around next game.”

Washington faced numerous times this season when it appeared it wouldn’t qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs and responded each time. It needed to win its final three regular-season games to clinch the second wild card from the East.

But the Capitals face their toughest predicament yet against the Rangers, who won the Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s top team during the regular season. Only four teams in NHL history (4-202) have won a best-of-7 series after being down 3-0. The last to do it was the Los Angeles Kings in the 2014 first round against the San Jose Sharks.

“It won’t change from what we’ve been through for the last two months, for the better part of coming back from the (All-Star) break,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. “We’re not trying to win a series. We’re trying to win one hockey game, so that’s how we’ll prepare.”

As in a 4-3 loss in Game 2 on Tuesday, the Capitals’ biggest issue Friday was on special teams. The Capitals went 0-for-6 on the power play and allowed a short-handed goal to Barclay Goodrow at 8:08 of the first period that gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead. It was the second straight game they gave up a short-handed goal that turned out to be the winning goal.

The Capitals also gave up a power-play goal to Vincent Trocheck at 15:22 of the second period that made it 3-1. The Rangers have scored three power-play goals and two short-handed goals in the past two games.

“It kind of [stinks] because we know exactly what we have to do out there, how they’re going to play,” Washington captain Alex Ovechkin said. “We have looks, but we still can't get the puck in.”

Though the Capitals played the Rangers even in terms of goals at 5-on-5 for the second straight game, they managed only one goal at 5-on-5 for the third game in a row.

Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin, who made 28 saves Friday, deserves some credit for that, but the Capitals’ trouble scoring is the continuation of an issue that plagued them all season. Washington was 28th in the NHL with an average of 2.63 goals per game and 30th in the League in averaging 26.5 shots on goal during the regular season.

Ovechkin led the Capitals with 31 goals during the regular season, including 23 in his final 36 games, but was held without a point for the third straight game and continued to struggle to get shots to the net. After managing only one shot on goal in the first two games, Ovechkin had four Friday (two on the power play) but also had two attempts blocked, including one that led to Goodrow’s short-handed goal.

“We just really, really are struggling to just make that play just whatever it is,” Carbery said, “whether it’s shoot it in the back of the net when you’re in cold or whether it’s to make one, two, three, four passes. You see it on the power play big time. It’s not a lack of effort. Guys are trying. It’s just we’re very, very limited offensively with what we can do with the puck.”

On top of that, the Capitals are running out of healthy defensemen. Already missing Rasmus Sandin, Nick Jensen and Vincent Iorio, each because of an upper-body injury, Washington lost another when Trevor van Riemsdyk sustained an upper-body injury on a hit from Matt Rempe at 12:08 of the first period that resulted in an interference penalty.

That forced the Capitals to finish the game with five defensemen for the second time in three games after Iorio was injured on a hit from Alexis Lafrenière in the second period of a 4-1 loss in Game 1. Carlson, who led the NHL in averaging 25:54 in ice time during the regular season, played 30:30 Friday after playing 30:49 in Game 2 and 27:24 in Game 1.

Though Carlson brushed off his heavy ice time as “whatever,” Carbery said, “You can tell he’s wearing down, for sure.”

How much Carlson and the Capitals have left to try to win Sunday and push the series to Game 5 remains to be seen. But as they did all season, they vowed to keep fighting.

“We’ve got to win the first one,” forward Tom Wilson said. “Take it a period, a shift at a time, turn the momentum our way. Once you grab one game, anything can happen, but we’ve got to be better. Put some pucks in the back of the net. We’ve got to be good at home the next game.”