It certainly wasn’t the result the Washington Capitals (35-28-9) wanted. They fell flat and suffered a 3-0 loss to the St. Louis Blues (29-30-11) on Tuesday night.
It was the Capitals’ first stop on a three-game road trip as they look to keep their playoff hopes alive. Unfortunately, Tuesday’s shutout loss certainly wasn’t that.
The Capitals looked promising early, but could not locate St. Louis goaltender Joel Hofer. The team’s power-play problems also continued.
The highlight for the Capitals was when they went toe-to-toe with the Blues. Ryan Leonard’s aggressive attitude continued as he dropped the gloves with Otto Steinberg.
Later in the game, Pierre-Luc Dubois received a five-minute match penalty for fouling Robert Thomas. Many people questioned whether the fine was too high.
The Capitals’ regulation loss hurts more when you realize that Boston, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and the Islanders all lost on the same night. Washington’s playoff chances are shrinking by the minute.
Next, the Capitals will head to the Rocky Mountains to face Utah on Thursday night.
capitals analysis
From the moment they took the ice, the Capitals just took off on Tuesday. They were unable to score on Hoffer as the St. Louis netminder stopped all 21 shots.
What’s worse is that the Capitals could only muster six shots on goal in the first 40 minutes. An additional 14 in the third period ultimately were not enough.
The ongoing power-play problems continued as the Capitals went 0-2 on the night. The team was unable to create high quality chances.
The Blues went ahead 1–0 in the middle frame as Jimmy Snuggerud fired a one-timer from the left circle.
Shortly after that goal, Leonard took a high hit from Stenberg and a scuffle broke out between the two players. The 21-year-old tried to breathe some life into his team as he now has two matches left in his career.
In the final period, Stenberg doubled St. Louis’ lead when he caught Logan Thompson in front.
Down 2-0, Dubois caught Thomas and threw him hard to the ice. Thomas appeared to be badly hurt, and was given a match penalty for intent to injure Dubois.
Late in the game, Jordan Kirou recorded an empty-netter to complete the Blues’ shutout victory.
capitals report card
Team: D-
Absolutely flat performance from the Capitals, especially on attack. However, things went a little haywire in St. Louis.
Capitals Power Play: F
Once again, the Capitals could not advance on the man advantage. The team failed to create chances and fell 0-2.
Ryan Leonard: B–
Leonard tried to breathe some life into the Capitals by dropping the gloves with Stenberg. It looks like the 21-year-old is learning hard from Tom Wilson.
Logan Thompson: B
Thompson was influential despite being disappointed by his teammates. He stopped 24 of 26 shots against the Blues.
Ivan Miroshnichenko: C+
Miroshnichenko stepped in for the injured Ethan Frank in the fourth row. He hit a shot off the post after a feed from Hendricks Lapierre.
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