After three games, the Washington Capitals hoped a change of scenery would revitalize the team as they took on the Carolina Hurricanes at NC State’s Carter Finley Stadium. That didn’t happen. Instead, the Caps now face a four-game losing streak in which they failed to hold a lead.
After Saturday night’s 4-1 loss to the Canes, Capitals player and head coach Peter Laviolette spoke to the media, trying to explain what went wrong and what this team needs to do to move forward.
“I don’t think concern is the right word,” said TJ Oshie. “I think our playoff hockey probably starts here next week otherwise we’ll be looking inside from the outside.”
Peter Laviolette: The Hurricanes were the better team
Laviolette focused on the competitive mismatch between the Capitals – who he saw as slower and more offensively challenged – and the Hurricanes – who he described as the more defensive and faster team.
- “They were faster – we couldn’t, we couldn’t get escape speed out of our end, we couldn’t get through the neutral zone.”
- “Offensively they defended quickly. We couldn’t leave the walls. We couldn’t get to the top of the net.”
- “They played in a different gear.”
- “We didn’t turn up the offensive as much as we would have liked.”
- “We caught ourselves just chasing them and following the game.”
- “It wasn’t the performance we wanted.”
- “It has to do with the speed at which we move our legs, the speed at which we move the game, the speed at which we move the puck.”
Nicklas Backstrom: Caps need to get better in all three zones
Backstrom noted that Capital’s recent struggles have not been confined to a single area of play. In fact, to improve, the team needs to work on every area of the game.
- “No breakouts, no neutral zone play, no forecheck, so it was pretty flat out there.”
- “Of course we have to take care of it”
- “We haven’t been good lately [the defensive] Area.”
- “We all look and how we feel out there, how our game is being played… it’s not looking good, that’s for sure.”
- “I think everything [needs to be addressed,] to be honest. D zone, neutral zone, offensive zone. I mean it doesn’t work.”
Lars Eller: Everyone has to play better
While he didn’t shoot at any specific player, Eller has been harshly critical of his play and that of his teammates over the past week. He stressed that every single team member needs to improve from the ground up.
- “Every single player just has to look at themselves… and do everything better.”
- “I think everyone has good intentions, I think everyone’s trying, but we’re just not at our best individually and as a team of five we’re not at our best. We’re not in sync.”
- “We’re just struggling to do two runs in a row tonight.”
- “For whatever reason, I can’t – it’s hard to analyze why that is right now, but it starts with, just, real basics. I think the plan for execution is there; we’ve done it a lot this year, we’ve just got…poor execution at the moment and we’re missing ten, fifteen percent of ours, I feel like everyone.”
- “It’s not been there for the last four games.”
- “We’re still a long way from being at our best”
TJ Oshie: It’s time to play playoff hockey
Despite the absences of Alexander Ovechkin, John Carlson and Nic Dowd, Oshie was confident that the remaining members of the Capitals roster have the ability to win games. However, this would require a new playstyle to advance.
- “I don’t know, we don’t have any more space here.”
- “I don’t think concerned is the right word. I think our playoff hockey probably starts here next week otherwise we’ll be looking inside from the outside.
- “We need everyone playing playoff style if we’re going to get back into this thing.”
- “The guys in the lineup are more than capable of giving us some wins…they may not dominate every game but we are very capable of getting wins.”
- “We haven’t played well enough for that.”
Tom Wilson: Caps players have to work as a team
Wilson reiterated the importance of teamwork and momentum in the remaining games of the season: if the team can come together and improve, it can lead to better overall performance.
- “I think we need to help each other a little bit more.”
- “It’s just a little off.”
- “We just have to work for each other. And I think it’s one of those things: a couple of pucks go into the net and the guys feel better, make plays and we can build on that.
Dylan Strome: Time to reset before next game
While analyzing a loss is still important for the team, Strome emphasized the additional need for the team to look ahead and focus on the games ahead.
- “I thought we had a chance in the last game [against the Florida Panthers]. Tonight we obviously didn’t have that little setback that we sometimes needed.”
- “I’m not sure [how to return to the team’s quality earlier in the season.] But we need to get it back quickly. We need to reset and regroup and stop this losing streak, you know, now before it’s too late.
- “Obviously a big game on Tuesday and we need to put that behind us and move forward with Tuesday.”
Headline photo: @kkmortier/Twitter