The Washington Capitals, who are leading the Eastern Conference, will aim to move past their recent loss and focus on their next game Tuesday when they play the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Capitals come into this game after a 3-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on Monday, which ended their 10-game road winning streak, a franchise record.
Before that, Washington had won four games in a row and outscored their opponents 13-6. Despite being held to just one goal against the Stars, Dylan Strome scored for Washington by tipping in a shot from Jakob Chychrun in the first period.
“Try to get a high tip because it’s tough for the goalie to pick it up, you know,” Strome said. “We talk a lot about getting to the net. It’s kind of a give-and-take, if you can get to the net to screen the goalie or try to get a high tip. All of our ‘D’ gets their shots through, and that’s been a huge reason why we’ve scored this year.”
Capitals coach Spencer Carbery values the team’s effort, especially since star forward Alex Ovechkin (fractured left fibula) has been out for a month.
“We need to continue to find ways to score on the interior,” Carbery said. “We’ve got to continue to work because those are hard goals to score, but they’re imperative goals to score. Imperative to score in this league, especially against good teams.”
The Blackhawks have won two of their last four games as they try to build their second two-game winning streak of the season. Although they’ve given up eight third-period goals in the last three games, they managed to stop the last goal from being a game-changer.
On Sunday, Noah Dobson of the New York Islanders scored early in the third period to tie the game at 3-3, but Connor Bedard’s goal late in the game, along with an empty-netter, secured a 5-3 win for Chicago.
Blackhawks interim coach Anders Sorensen praised the team’s resilience.
“We did bend a little bit, and we were teetering a little bit, but give the guys a lot of credit,” Sorensen said. “The composure on the bench was really good. A lot of young players kept their composure and kept making plays when the game was on the line.”
Bedard, who had a goal and an assist in that game, has seven points (two goals, five assists) in the past five games. He credits Sorensen’s coaching for the team’s improvement.
“I feel like he’s been really good with me kind of one-on-one, helping me out,” Bedard said. “And I think we’re playing a little more aggressive, which obviously benefits the offensive side. But, you know, obviously I like to think I can make plays and produce, and that’s what I want to do. But he’s helped me out a bit, for sure.”
Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno missed the game against the Islanders due to illness. Washington’s Andrew Mangiapane was also out on Monday for the same reason.
