Jan. 29 vs. Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena
Time: 7:30 p.m.
TV: ESPN+/Hulu
Radio: 106.7 THE FAN/Caps Radio Network
Washington Capitals (25-22-7)
Detroit Red Wings (32-17-5)
The Caps reach the end of the road Thursday night in Detroit when they face the Red Wings in the finale of their six-game road trip, their longest of the season. Washington has not found prosperity on the ice during this journey; it is 1-3-1 on the trip to date and the Caps are in a 1-5-1 tailspin in their last seven games overall.
Most recently, the Caps delivered a listless performance in a 5-1 loss to the Kraken in Seattle on Tuesday night. Coming off a weekend in which they played well and earned three of four possible points in a set of back-to-back games at Calgary and Edmonton, respectively, the Caps had hope of finishing the trip above water if they could finally string together consecutive wins in the final two stops of the trip, Seattle and Detroit.
Instead, they’ll be looking to come home with more than the paltry three of 10 points they’ve collected to this point of the journey.
Despite being thoroughly outplayed in the game’s first 20 minutes in Seattle, the Caps had three golden opportunities to score in that period, and they were fortunate to enter the middle frame all even at 0-0. But the Kraken struck thrice in the second period, scoring early, midway through, and late in the frame to salt the game away.
Those early Washington scoring chances in Seattle ultimately amounted to fool’s gold, given that they didn’t produce anything that changed the look of the scoreboard at Climate Pledge Arena.
“Yeah, we do get three transition chances,” says Caps coach Spencer Carbery. “The 2-on-1, [Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer] makes the save on [Dylan Strome], the one that goes back door that goes through, back through. No doubt, those are quality looks.
“But if you’re evaluating who is carrying play, who has the puck, what end is the puck in, it’s not close. So, that’s where transition chances are nice. We don’t capitalize, but we have to be able to go toe-to-toe with a team and control some play and have the puck and be in their end and register a few shots. And that wasn’t [the case] tonight.”
Too often of late, the Caps are unable to get to their brand of hockey for enough of the game’s 60 minutes, too often their starts are insufficient, and too often they’re chasing games.
“I think the start, we’re running into a lot of desperate teams right now, and they came out and showed that they were more desperate out of the gate, and we kind of chased the game the whole night,” says Caps right wing Tom Wilson. “Obviously not good enough, and a tough pill to swallow right now.”
Over the last several weeks, we’ve heard a lot of talk about the Caps running into angry teams or desperate teams or urgent teams as they traverse their way through the schedule. But at this point of the season, it’s more than fair to ask about Washington’s own sense of desperation, of anger, of urgency.
“This is a kick in the teeth,” says Wilson of Tuesday’s loss. “We’ve got one more game on this trip, and it’s the biggest game of the year. If we’re not desperate after this one, then I don’t know what to say. I think our group understands what’s going on here and this is a big wake-up call coming in here and getting our asses handed to us. We’ve got to be better and we will be better.”
Through the season’s first 28 games, the Caps had the second-best record in the Eastern Conference and fourth in the League. Washington also held a scoreboard lead for a grand total of 734:22, second-most in the League to that point of the season.
In the last 26 games since, the Caps have failed to string together consecutive victories, and they’ve had a scoreboard lead for a total of 388:05, 26th in the League over that span.
“Look, that’s [the media’s] job, to evaluate where our team is at and what it looks like on a night like tonight,” says Carbery. “I don’t even bother with that. What I bother with is how I’m going to help our group get better and perform at their absolute best, and our individual players, and develop those guys as best as I possibly can every single day.
“So, whether we’re good enough to however you want to evaluate, I’m not going to worry about that. I’m worried about how we’re going to win the next game, or how I can help our group [and] put them in the best position possible to win the next game. How can they improve tomorrow, and the next day, and the following day, to be the best possible NHL players they can be.”
Including Thursday’s game against the Red Wings, the Capitals have five games remaining in eight nights between now and the onset of the NHL’s Olympic break late next week. The next three of those games after Thursday in Detroit are against fellow Metropolitan Division rivals Carolina, the New York Islanders and Philadelphia.
How the Caps fare in these final six games leading into the break may ultimately determine whether they’re buyers or sellers at the March 6 trade deadline.
Vying for their first playoff berth in a decade – since 2015-16 – the Wings are in a great position, a point south of the Tampa Bay Lightning for the top spot in the Atlantic Division.
While the Caps have scuffled mightily over most of the last two months, the Wings have been one of the League’s most consistent squads over that span. At 19-6-3 since the beginning of December – a stretch that includes two victories over the Caps – Detroit holds the third best record in the NHL across that span, trailing only Buffalo and Colorado.
Most recently, the Wings opened a three-game homestand on Tuesday against Los Angeles, dropping a 3-1 decision to the Kings.
