Caps Conclude Trip in St. Louis
Caps take on Blues on Thursday, seeking to salvage something from what has been an unsuccessful trip to date
The Caps conclude a three-game road trip on Thursday night in St. Louis against the Blues. After dropping the first two games of the journey in Tampa and Florida against the Lightning and Panthers, respectively, the Capitals will be seeking to salvage something from the trip here in the Gateway City.
After a dismal performance in a 6-3 loss to the Lightning in the trip opener on Sunday, the Caps were much better on Tuesday on Florida. But they were chasing the game all night against the Panthers, and ultimately suffered a 5-2 loss, their third setback in four games.
When the Caps claimed a 3-0 victory over the Predators in Nashville on Oct. 29, it was their fifth win in seven games and their second straight on the road. Ominously, Washington lost defenseman John Carlson and right wing T.J. Oshie to lower body injuries in the first period of that game. Carlson missed the next six games, and Oshie has yet to return, and the Caps have been unable to muster any kind of traction in the standings since.
The Capitals have won only two of nine games (2-5-2) since winning in Nashville, and they are 0-3-1 in four road games since then. They are also 2-5-1 in the month of November after rolling up a 55-22-7 cumulative November record since the 2015-16 season.
Washington's 25-10-6 road record last season was the best in the NHL, and from the start of the 2011-12 season through the end of last season, the Caps' .607 points pct. over the course of 416 regular season road games was tops in the NHL.
But the Caps enter Thursday's game with a 2-5-1 road record this season. When they take the ice in St. Louis against the Blues, they'll be seeking to avoid coming home empty-handed from a road trip of three or more games for the first time in over five years. The last time Washington returned from such a trip with no points was a futile California trip of three games in four nights from March 9-12, 2017 when the Caps dropped all three games in regulation at San Jose, Los Angeles and Anaheim, respectively.
Despite all their injuries and lineup absences - eight players missed Tuesday's game in Florida - and travails, there's nothing wrong with the Caps that a four- or five-game winning run wouldn't cure. But Washington hasn't been able to string together even two straight wins since Nashville.
"It takes a lot of hard work," says Caps right wing Garnet Hathaway, when asked what it will take to put together such a streak. "It takes playing simple hockey when it calls for it and skilled hockey when that calls for it."
Lately, it's been feast or famine for the Caps, both at 5-on-5 and on the power play. Over a recent eight-game stretch, the Caps scored a total of nine goals at 5-on-5, then erupted for five goals at even strength in a 5-1 home ice win over Tampa Bay last Friday. Washington scored 13 power-play goals over a recent span of a dozen games - including four in a single game in a 5-4 victory over Edmonton - but are now without a power-play goal in their last four games, going 0-for-21 during that stretch.
"Right now, we've got to find a way to score goals," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette. "the power play has got to get us one, the 5-on-5 has got to get us another one. I thought we played hard in the last 40 minutes [on Tuesday] and pushed hard to get that win. And we couldn't seem to get ahead of the score, couldn't seem to get where we wanted to go."
St. Louis is in action on Wednesday night in Chicago, facing the Blackhawks in the finale of a three-game road trip of its own. Unlike the Caps, who are seeking to salvage a point or two from what has been an unsuccessful trip to date, the Blues are looking to run the table on their trip. They downed the Golden Knights in Vegas on Saturday and overcame the Avalanche in Denver two nights later, winning each by 3-2 counts.
The Blues carry a three-game winning streak into Wednesday's game against the Hawks; St. Louis opened the season with three straight wins but suffered a staggering eight-game losing streak in between those two modest winning runs. The Blues were outscored by a combined 38-12 during the life of that losing streak, and even though they still occupy the basement of the NHL's Central Division, they're two points closer to the top spot in the Central than the Caps are in the inflationary Metropolitan Division, where three of the League's top six teams - from the standpoint of points percentage - currently reside.
For the Blues, Thursday's game is the opener of a three-game trip. The Anaheim Ducks follow the Capitals into town for an extended two-game stay in the Gateway City.
