Caps' Slide Hits Six in 4-2 Loss

It was a tough and emotional day and night for the Capitals in the midst of what is swiftly becoming one of the toughest seasons in the team's recent history. Less than an hour before puck drop in the Caps' Thursday night game against Anaheim, Washington announced it traded a pair of veteran fixtures - defenseman Dmitry Orlov and winger Garnet Hathaway - to the Boston Bruins in exchange for a trio of draft choices and veteran forward Craig Smith, an impending free agent.

With Caps captain Alex Ovechkin back in the lineup after missing more than a week following the absence of his father, there was already an element of emotion injected into Thursday's game. Although the Caps were able to finally forge a pair of scoreboard leads against Anaheim, they dropped a 4-2 decision to the Ducks, extending their losing streak to six straight games, all in regulation.
Jakub Silfverberg scored on a 2-on-1 rush at 2:15 of the third period, 10 seconds after the Ducks won a draw in their own end of the ice. Silfverberg's goal gave Anaheim its first lead of the night, and Ducks goaltender John Gibson made 16 of his 41 saves in the third period to make Silfverberg's goal - and Derek Grant's late empty-netter - stand up for the team's first victory since Feb. 7, and its first regulation win since Jan. 26.
"Obviously it's been a really tough stretch for us, these last five games," says Silfverberg. "It hasn't just been the results, it's kind of been the way we've been playing, too.
"Just getting the win and getting the morale boost in room means a lot."
Washington is now saddled with its first six-game regulation losing streak in nearly two decades, since October of 2003, early in the 2003-04 season. That 0-7-1 slide - the last six of which came in regulation - immediately followed the Caps' 6-1 opening night win over the Islanders, dropping it to 1-7-1 before the end of October, and spurring a season-long fire sale of veterans that ultimately led the Caps into the Ovechkin era.
Washington has not been a seller at the deadline since 2007.
"I think it's part of the business," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette, who is also in unfamiliar territory. The last time he was behind the bench of a team that didn't make the playoffs at season's end was in 2013 with Philadelphia. "It doesn't mean it's easy. I think it happens with all the teams around the League. It's part of the business of the game, and I think the guys know that.
"That's a sidebar. We needed to play a hockey game; we needed to win a hockey game. We didn't get it done."
Less than an hour after the announcement, the Caps took the ice hoping to halt their losing streak against Anaheim, which entered the game with a six-game slide (0-5-1) of its own and tied with Columbus for the bottom spot on the League's overall standings ladder.
Washington got a pair of early power play chances in the first, and it used the second of those extra-man opportunities to jump out to a 1-0 lead, its first scoreboard lead in a dozen days and in over 300 minutes of hockey.
From center point, Erik Gustafsson put a wrister on net and T.J. Oshie - stationed in the slot - redirected it past Gibson for a 1-0 lead at 11:41 of the first.
That one-goal lead lasted until 7:09 of the second when Anaheim's Isac Lundestrom hopped over the boards and took a stretch feed from Cam Fowler, skated in on a breakaway and beat Caps goalie Charlie Lindgren with a nifty backhander.
Just under two minutes later, the Caps regained their lead on a Nick Jensen goal. Nic Dowd left the puck for Jensen at center point, and Jensen carried with speed down the left side, firing shot from the bottom of the left circle that went bar down behind Gibson at 9:07, making it a 2-1 game.
The second Caps' lead lasted less than a minute. Off the rush, Troy Terry took a shot that glanced off Lindgren's glove and fell behind him into the crease. A pileup of bodies from both sides ensued, and the officials ruled that the puck had crossed the line and entered the net, tying the game at 2-2 at 9:51 of the middle frame.
"Video Review confirmed the referee's call on the ice that the puck completely crossed the Washington goal line in a legal fashion," read the email sent out by the NHL's Situation Room after the Terry goal.
"It was difficult," says Laviolette, of the decision on whether or not to issue a coach's challenge on the play. "I thought we were pushed a little bit, but I don't know if that gets overturned. At that point in the game, to send them back on the power play [in the event of an unsuccessful challenge] didn't make sense.
"I couldn't tell, and so it didn't make sense to challenge something that we weren't sure of. And if we were wrong, they're on the power play and possibly score a power-play goal."
The Caps poured 31 shots on Gibson - who has faced more shots than any other goalie in the League this season - in the game's final 40 minutes, but only Jensen could solve him. According to naturatstattrick.com, the Caps had an 11-1 advantage in high danger scoring chances over the game's final 40 minutes, but once again, they weren't able to pull a pair of desperately needed points.
"It's sad," says Ovechkin of the trade. "Great teammates, good friends, good players. It's hard. It's a business, and that's life. So we wish them luck and have to move on."
Less than two weeks ago, the Caps were holding down a playoff spot. But their current spiral has dropped them from seventh to 12th place in the Eastern Conference standings. Although the Caps trail eighth-place Detroit by just two points, they now have to claw their way past a quartet of teams to get back to where they need to be.
"It's tough," says Jensen, who arrived from Detroit in a pre-deadline deal just over four years ago. "That aspect of hockey is really hard. The guys in this room, we go through all of the highs and lows and we're like brothers in here. When you see guys no longer showing up in the locker room together, it's definitely hard. It can be somewhat of a distraction, but it's part of the game and it's something you've got to move on from."
Two months ago, it didn't seem possible that Washington would be sellers at the deadline, but the team has tumbled for several weeks now and is only 7-13-1 since the flip of the calendar, nearly mirroring its 7-10-3 start to the season.
"I think we all feel in here that we're a playoff team, and those are a huge two points that we let slip away," says Caps defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk. "But we're going to miss those guys. They're great people, they're great humans, and obviously that's part of the business. It's a sad part, but it is what it is, and it's no excuse for not being able to find a way to win."