The Washington Capitals (39-30-9) playoff chances took a big blow on Sunday night. They lost 8–1 completely against the last-place New York Rangers (33–36–9) at Madison Square Garden.
The Capitals looked to be in good shape after upsetting red-hot Buffalo on Saturday. However, a second period collapse and lack of coverage led to a significant loss on the road.
After the Rangers took an early 1–0 lead, Connor McMichael scored the only goal for the Capitals to tie the score at 1–1. The first period looked to be a more competitive contest.
Unfortunately, the second period is when the wheels completely came off for the Capitals. The defense broke down and Rangers surrendered five goals.
It was also a tough night for Charlie Lindgren, who had lost his last 10 games and was playing his second consecutive half. The 32-year-old netminder finished the night by stopping 24 of 32 shots.
With the loss, the Capitals are now three points behind the second wild card spot in the East and third place in the Metropolitan Division. Next, Washington will look to bounce back when they visit Toronto on Wednesday night.
capitals analysis
After Connor Sherry opened the scoring, Tom Wilson played a nice pass to McMichael for a breakaway goal to tie the score at 1–1. Unfortunately, that first period matchup was really the only highlight of Washington's offense all night.
The middle structure is when the capitals became completely separate. First, the Rangers went on the power play as JT Miller deflected a rebound. Then, Will Cooley scored on an even play by going backdoor and redirecting the puck past Lindgren.
Quayle scored his second goal, beating Lindgren from the right circle and making the score 4–1 Rangers. Adam Sikora then capped the blowout with a one-timer and Adam Fox's shot through traffic resulted in a power-play goal.
The Rangers led 6-1 at the second intermission as the Capitals had no answer. The defense looked shaky and Lindgren struggled in his first game since March 12.
Early in the third, Vincent Trocheck beat Lindgren in the five-hole to cut the Rangers' lead to 7–1. Then, with 31.5 seconds remaining, Quayle fired away from the slot to finish the night with a hat trick.
The Capitals were so disappointed with the results that three players left the opposition. Jacob Chychrun, Brandon Duhaime and Hendricks Lapierre were all given five-minute majors.
While the Capitals had recently been successful based on individual gains, their struggles made a sudden return. The team went 0-3 on the power play, as they failed to create chances.
capitals report card
Team: F
The performance of the Capitals, who are trying to keep their playoff hopes alive, has been absolutely disappointing. That second period is further proof of this.
Charlie Lindgren :D
It didn't help that Lindgren sat out the last 10 games for Logan Thompson. The netminder looked lost in the net as he conceded eight goals.
Capitals Special Teams: F
Somehow, the Capitals' special teams struggles returned in the worst way possible. The team went 0-3 on the power play and gave up two goals on the penalty kill.
