The Washington Capitals lost to the Nashville Predators 3-2 on Sunday, falling to 23-17-6 on the season. They are hanging onto the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference on a tiebreaker through 46 games. Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery knows what he needs to see moving forward if Washington is going to make the playoffs.
We just have to create more dangerous looks,” Carbery said, per Robby Stanley of NHL.com. “Our expected goals for controlling 5-on-5 play is, like, 2.1. We’ve got to get that up to four. If you’re going to control play, like we just have to make a few more plays, threaten a little bit more, get a little bit more dangerous on the inside.”
MoneyPuck.com does give the Capitals a slight advantage in 5v5 expected goals for Sunday night's game. But 1.49 to 1.02 is not the advantage that Carbery is looking for. They did dominate on special teams in the game, but did not convert on enough chances to pull out the win. They went 2/5 on the powerplay, including Alex Ovechkin's 20th goal of the season.
The Capitals have gotten a great season out of goalie Logan Thompson. He is second in MoneyPuck's Goals Saved Above Expected stat with 18.2 on the season. His great campaign has stolen Washington plenty of wins and earned him a spot on Team Canada's Olympic squad. Carbery knows that if his club can control 5v5 play, his goalie will finish the job and pick up big wins.
The Capitals are facing the potential end of the Ovechkin era in this 2025-26 season. With his contract ending and the all-time goals record smashed, they know the chances are running out to add a second Cup to his resume. Performances like Sunday's won't help in that quest.
The Capitals need a massive second half to make the playoffs. That continues on Tuesday at home against the Montreal Canadiens.
