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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Flyers handle Caps, 3-1 | Flyers handle Caps, 3-1 |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Waffling between the desire to mine Sunday afternoon’s 3-1 clunker of a loss to the Philadelphia Flyers for teaching moments and to chuck the fresh memories into a landfill, the Washington Capitals gathered inside their locker room and quickly began the postmortem. They had wobbled through three periods of stagnant offense with a season-low 14 shots on goal. Their power play, ranked first in the Eastern Conference and deployed six times, had flat-lined. They found no shortage of descriptors for the 60-minute eyesore at Verizon Center. | Waffling between the desire to mine Sunday afternoon’s 3-1 clunker of a loss to the Philadelphia Flyers for teaching moments and to chuck the fresh memories into a landfill, the Washington Capitals gathered inside their locker room and quickly began the postmortem. They had wobbled through three periods of stagnant offense with a season-low 14 shots on goal. Their power play, ranked first in the Eastern Conference and deployed six times, had flat-lined. They found no shortage of descriptors for the 60-minute eyesore at Verizon Center. |
| “A stinker,” defenseman Karl Alzner said. | “A stinker,” defenseman Karl Alzner said. |
| “Sad to have the lack of execution,” forward Brooks Laich said. | “Sad to have the lack of execution,” forward Brooks Laich said. |
| “Un-Capital,” Coach Barry Trotz said. “That was a good example of how not to play.” | “Un-Capital,” Coach Barry Trotz said. “That was a good example of how not to play.” |
| The statistics laid bare before them, the Capitals had little choice but to face the futility. They produced the franchise’s fewest shots on goal since March 18, 2011. They were neutered on five of those six power plays, much to the delight of the orange sweaters that peppered the stands. | The statistics laid bare before them, the Capitals had little choice but to face the futility. They produced the franchise’s fewest shots on goal since March 18, 2011. They were neutered on five of those six power plays, much to the delight of the orange sweaters that peppered the stands. |
| With goaltender Braden Holtby pulled at the two-minute mark, forward Tom Wilson committed a boarding penalty inside the offensive zone, leading to forward Jakub Voracek’s empty-netter and handing Washington its first multi-goal defeat since before Christmas. And for the sixth time this season, the Capitals failed to extend a three-game winning streak to four. | With goaltender Braden Holtby pulled at the two-minute mark, forward Tom Wilson committed a boarding penalty inside the offensive zone, leading to forward Jakub Voracek’s empty-netter and handing Washington its first multi-goal defeat since before Christmas. And for the sixth time this season, the Capitals failed to extend a three-game winning streak to four. |
| “I didn’t like our execution,” Trotz said. “There wasn’t enough urgency in our dressing room tonight. Very disappointing.” | “I didn’t like our execution,” Trotz said. “There wasn’t enough urgency in our dressing room tonight. Very disappointing.” |
| Hosting a Flyers team already clinging to the cliff’s edge of its postseason hopes, the Capitals saw the chance to boot their Metropolitan Division rivals into the dust. Instead, they went more than 12 minutes without attempting any shot — on goal, missed or blocked. Through two first-period power plays, gifted from Ryan White’s cross-checking and a too-many-men minor on Philadelphia’s bench, Washington instead allowed more shorthanded shots (one) than it produced with the man advantage (zero). | |
| The matinee received a jolt midway through the first period, when Flyers forward Scott Laughton shed his gloves and challenged defenseman Matt Niskanen, retribution for a clean, booming, open-ice hit from their last meeting, a 1-0 Capitals win on Jan. 4. The check concussed Laughton and sidelined him for three weeks, so his best determined course of revenge was risking more blows to the head. | |
| The applause was more sarcastic at 11 minutes 57 seconds, when the Capitals finally mustered their first shot, a harmless, dying backhander from center Nicklas Backstrom that settled into goalie Steve Mason’s belly. | |
| Fifty seconds into the middle period, the Flyers struck. A point blast from defenseman Mark Streit, aimed toward two teammates stationed behind each other in front of the net, instead knuckled through the lane. Holtby sprang up onto his toes but watched it sink underneath his arm, just the third goal he had allowed in five starts. | Fifty seconds into the middle period, the Flyers struck. A point blast from defenseman Mark Streit, aimed toward two teammates stationed behind each other in front of the net, instead knuckled through the lane. Holtby sprang up onto his toes but watched it sink underneath his arm, just the third goal he had allowed in five starts. |
| Washington answered midway through the second. With Matt Read already shelved for interfering with defenseman Brooks Orpik, Mason suddenly exited the ice during a television timeout with a lower-body injury and would not return. Backup Ray Emery stretched and entered. The Capitals smelled blood. | Washington answered midway through the second. With Matt Read already shelved for interfering with defenseman Brooks Orpik, Mason suddenly exited the ice during a television timeout with a lower-body injury and would not return. Backup Ray Emery stretched and entered. The Capitals smelled blood. |
| “A good opportunity for us to pepper him,” Alzner said. “We just didn’t do it. It just wasn’t a good game for us, and it’s a shame.” | “A good opportunity for us to pepper him,” Alzner said. “We just didn’t do it. It just wasn’t a good game for us, and it’s a shame.” |
| One hundred seconds of five-on-three, created when Michael Del Zotto whacked Evgeny Kuznetsov in the face for a high-stick, passed without consequence, but the Capitals finally broke through once Read released. Alone in his favorite spot, Ovechkin gathered Kuznetov’s spin-and-fire pass from the opposite corner, slid forward, stared down Emery and thrashed a shot that rattled off two metal pipes before hitting the net. His 33rd goal of the season tied Ovechkin for the league lead and knotted the game at 1. | |
| Less than five minutes into the third, though, Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds yanked the lead back in his team’s favor, whistling an on-the-rush shot underneath Holtby’s glove that the goaltender later lamented he read wrong. | Less than five minutes into the third, though, Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds yanked the lead back in his team’s favor, whistling an on-the-rush shot underneath Holtby’s glove that the goaltender later lamented he read wrong. |
| Washington’s offensive woes, meanwhile, continued. The Capitals faced Emery for more than 12 minutes before finally sending an even-strength shot on goal his way. A sixth power play, earned when defenseman Andrew MacDonald hauled down Ovechkin, again produced little more than frustrated groans. Soon Holtby fled his post, Wilson committed his penalty and the end had mercifully come. Now the dissection could begin. | |
| “We knew their playoff lives were on the line,” Laich said. “We knew that. We were prepared for that. And it’s sad to have the lack of execution [and] come out on the losing side.” | “We knew their playoff lives were on the line,” Laich said. “We knew that. We were prepared for that. And it’s sad to have the lack of execution [and] come out on the losing side.” |