POSTGAME NOTEBOOK: Rangers 4, Caps 2

Downed - For the first time this season, the Caps did not hold a lead at any point in Thursday's game against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. As a result, the Caps are lugging their first losing streak of the season; they've dropped two straight games.

Washington fell behind the Rangers in the game's second minute when Ryan Strome tipped home an Adam Fox shot from center point, and the Caps chased the game the rest of the way, falling 4-2.
"Obviously the start wasn't great for us," says Caps winger Richard Panik. "We got scored on in the [second] minute and then it seemed like in the first period we were just chasing the puck all over the place. I think it got better a little bit in the second, but we still couldn't find our way - our way of playing in the games before."
Washington fell down 2-0 midway through the second, but pulled to within a goal when Carl Hagelin netted his first of the season late in the frame. While the Caps were pushing for the equalizer in the third, they yielded the back-breaker - Strome's second of the night on an odd-man rush. It proved to be the game-winner.
"We're playing a ton of teams that are extremely good teams," says Hagelin. "If you don't have one hundred percent effort or if you're not into the game fully, it's going to be hard periods. We've done that too much, where we haven't played a 60-minute game yet.

"It's time to adjust and figure that one out, because I know that if we do, we're a very successful team so we've got to get to that."
Thursday's game was the seventh straight the Caps have played with multiple key players missing from their lineup, and the first time this season that Washington went with seven defensemen and 11 forwards.
"I've said this before, everybody goes through it," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette. "There are no excuses here tonight. We needed a different result and we didn't get it, and we'll move on.
"I'm not sure what's available to us next game [personnel wise], but as we go through a couple of days here we'll see what our lineup looks like. We expected to come in here and win, so that's what's disappointing. Regardless of who's in or who's out, that's irrelevant. Everybody is dealt hands, and we've had to deal with it. It doesn't change anything. The expectation is to win."
Seventh Sojourn - Caps captain Alex Ovechkin scored Washington's second goal in Thursday's game, his third of the season and the 709th goal of his NHL career. The tally pushes him past ex-Caps great and Hockey Hall of Famer Mike Gartner for sole possession of seventh place on the NHL's all-time goal scoring ledger.
With only 11 forwards dressed for the Caps, Ovechkin was frequently double-shifted and he finished the night with 27:17 in ice time, his highest single-game total in a regular season game that didn't require overtime in more than a decade.
"I feel great," says Ovechkin. "I thought I was fresh. I was feeling the puck and I was in the game. Obviously, we're in a situation where somebody has to jump in and play double shifts. I was ready."
The last time Ovechkin punched in for more time on the clock in a 60-minute hockey game was Feb. 11, 2010 in a 6-5 loss to the Senators in Ottawa. He had one shot on net and one assist in that game, which followed a 6-5 overtime loss to the Canadiens in Montreal the night before, a game in which Ovechkin logged 29:30.
That loss in Montreal ended Washington's franchise record 14-game winning streak, and the game in Ottawa was the Caps' penultimate contest before a lengthy break for the 2010 Olympic Games. Ovechkin was 24 years old at the time.
Thursday's game was just Ovechkin's third game back in the lineup after missing 10 days (four games) of action because he was on the NHL's "unavailable due to COVID protocol list."
"We had the open spot, and so coming out of where he has been, the chance to get him some ice time and get him some work, I think that's important," says Laviolette. "We started slow and we built it up to where we wanted to push his minutes. A good chunk of it [was on the power play], but even so the 5-on-5 minutes he is probably four or five minutes ahead of everybody else; that's probably the double-shifting just to push him a little bit.

"I wouldn't expect to play him like that on most nights, but again we were chasing the game as well, with a short bench up front. So it was an opportunity to get him on the ice. I thought he looked strong; he was skating well, he was physical, he was putting pucks at the net. When that happens, anything can happen."
With Gartner in the rear view, sixth-place Phil Esposito (717) is the next target for Ovechkin.
"It's an amazing accomplishment," says Laviolette. "I thought Alex was hunting the whole night. He was firing, and he was firing from all over. I've watched him for so many years from a different bench, and to actually be on the bench and appreciate his talent is even more special. It's a great accomplishment for him."
Streaks Stopped - Washington had scored three or more goals in eight straight games and had netted at least one power-play goal in each of its previous five games, the latter being the team's longest streak of its kind in just over four years. Both streaks came to a halt at the hands of the Rangers.
Unhappy Trails - Going into Thursday night's game, the Caps had trailed on the scoreboard for a combined total of 49:52 in their first 10 games, the lowest total of any team in the league with at least eight games played. Against the Rangers on Thursday, the Caps were down on the scoreboard for a total of 58:19 on the night.
Biting The Hand -For the second straight game, a Capital scored against a former employer. Zdeno Chara tallied against the Boston Bruins on Monday night, and Hagelin victimized his first NHL organization - the Rangers - in Thursday's game.
Hagelin's last goal before Thursday also came at MSG on a Thursday night, March 5 of last year. He has scored in each of his last three games at MSG and has picked up a point in each of his last four games there. Each of Hagelin's last four goals have come at the expense of one of his former teams; he scored twice against Pittsburgh in a Feb. 23, 2020 game in Washington.
Local Hero -Rangers defenseman Anthony Bitetto scored his first goal in more than three years and in 113 games on Thursday, beating Caps goalie Vitek Vanecek on a brilliant individual effort and finishing with a backhander from the slot. Bitetto's last previous goal came on Nov. 18, 2017 against Colorado, while he was a member of the Nashville Predators.
Bitetto was born in Island Park, NY and grew up as a Rangers fan. He signed with the Blueshirts as an unrestricted free agent on Oct. 9 of last year, and Thursday was his second game with the Rangers.
"It was magical," he says of his goal against the Caps. "I don't usually score those type of goals. You put that jersey on, and weird things happen. And more importantly, we got a good win."
Bitetto now has three goals in 185 career games in the NHL.
By The Numbers - Ovechkin led the Caps in ice time, ending John Carlson's run of 10 straight games as Washington's ice time leader … Ovechkin led the Caps with seven shots on net and 11 shot attempts … Tom Wilson and Garnet Hathaway had four hits each to lead the Caps … Carlson, Wilson and Nick Jensen each had two blocked shots to pace the Capitals … Nicklas Backstrom won 11 of 15 face-offs (73 percent) while T.J. Oshie won 11 of 16 (69 percent).