Caps Lose Three-Goal Lead and Game to B's

For the second time in as many games against the Boston Bruins, the Caps let a 3-0 lead slip through their collective hands in the final half of regulation on Monday night at Capital One Arena. On this night though, there would be no overtime heroics to save them and salvage the two points. The Bruins scored five unanswered goals in the back half of Monday's rematch - four of them in the third period - handing the Capitals their first regulation loss in 10 games this season, 5-3.

A combination of mistakes, bad breaks and easing off the gas pedal undid the Caps on Monday.
When John Carlson scored on a power play to give Washington a 3-0 lead at 8:35 of the second, the Caps seemed to be in command. They had just killed off a two-man advantage for the Bruins earlier in the period and had been playing assertive hockey, mostly in the Boston end of the ice. But the Caps managed only eight shots on net the rest of the way, four of them from a distance of 40 feet or more and the last one with three seconds left in the game, down two goals.
"We weren't going to go 56-0," says Caps center Nicklas Backstrom. "But the way we had the game going, we were in the lead. We should have been able to put up a better third period than we did."
Boston put intensive offensive-zone pressure on the Caps in the third, out-attempting them 25-6 and scoring three goals in just over 11 minutes to take the lead, then adding a Brad Marchand empty-netter to put a coda on the victory.

"I think we started attacking better, getting to the net," says Boston coach Bruce Cassidy of his team's comeback. "We talked about that after the second period; we were just turning down too many shots."
Washington's start on Monday was much better than its start on Saturday, but the first period was the Caps' best on this night. The Capitals finished Monday's game with 26 shots on net, and more than a third of those - nine of them - came in a span of 128 seconds in the back half of the first. Two of them went in the net.
A couple minutes after video review denied a Carl Hagelin tip-in tally because the Caps were adjudged to have been offside after a Boston video challenge, Hagelin and his linemates put the Caps on the board on their very next shift. Nic Dowd won a left dot draw and Garnet Hathaway pushed to puck to Zdeno Chara at the left point. Chara took a couple steps toward the middle and let it fly, beating Boston goalie Jaroslav Halak to give Washington a 1-0 lead at 13:26 of the first.
Eleven seconds later, the Caps' fourth line doubled that lead. Nick Jensen sent Jakub Vrana into Boston ice, and Vrana left it for Daniel Sprong at the Bruins' line. Sprong stickhandled down to the inside of the right circle and beat Halak with a wrist shot at 13:37 to make it a 2-0 game.

The Caps kept the heat on in the attack zone for another minute or so but faded out offensively thereafter at 5-on-5.
Early in the second, the Caps found themselves in some penalty-killing peril, dealing with a two-man advantage for the Bruins for a span of 58 seconds. About a minute after they successfully navigated their way through that stretch, they went on a man advantage of their own.
After a successful entry into Boston ice, Vrana fed Carlson at center point. Carlson crept down to the high slot and put a wrist shot bar down behind Halak to make it a 3-0 game at 8:35.
Boston broke through four minutes later, getting on the board after winning an offensive-zone draw. David Pastrnak had enough time and space to pull the trigger twice from the high slot after the B's won the face-off, and the second one beat Vitek Vanecek at 12:37 to make it 3-1.
Pastrnak struck again to make it a 3-2 game at 6:08, scoring seven seconds after a Boston face-off win in Washington ice. Carlson wiped out behind the Washington net on the play, giving the B's a de facto 5-on-4 in front. For the second time in as many goals, the dangerous Pastrnak had way too much room with which to work.
A couple minutes later, Boston forward Trent Frederic challenged Washington's Tom Wilson to a bout, one that the Caps winger probably should have turned down. Wilson was one of the Caps' best and most consistent players on this night, and losing him for five minutes with 11:11 left in a one-goal game did Washington no favors.
Alex Ovechkin failed to clear the zone and ended up taking a slashing penalty to compound his initial mistake. Washington killed that minor - its penalty-killing outfit had a strong night - but the Bruins tied the game before Wilson and Frederic exited the box.
Boston defenseman Jeremy Lauzon made a strong play, carrying down the right side and issuing a perfect backhand feed for a wide-open Craig Smith, who beat Vanecek with a one-timer from the bottom of the left circle to tie it at 13:07.
The Bruins kept the heat on and took the lead on a goal from their fourth line a little over four minutes later. Boston winger Sean Kuraly collided with Conor Sheary high in Washington ice. As Sheary slowly tried to hobble off in obvious discomfort, Boston won a puck battle on the left half wall, and Kuraly was able to feed Brandon Carlo for the go-ahead goal on a one-timer from in tight with 2:37 left. It was a great shot, but once again, the B's had a de facto 5-on-4 in this situation, as Carlo was open because he was Sheary's guy.
Marchand's empty-netter ended whatever drama may have remained.

"I think we're going to take a look at some things," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette. "I don't like the fact that we weren't attacking as much. It's like we were looking at the lead. In the first period, we were good. We were driving the period the way we wanted to. We didn't do that in the third period, so you're sitting back.
"The three goals and the manner in which they happened, it seemed like in each instance we lost coverage - lost a man - and for different reasons. We got clipped on the net, we lost a man to injury, and one was just coverage. So guys are left open with good opportunities to create good chances, and they capitalized on them."