The Washington Capitals offense sputtered in Sin City, failing to generate enough opportunities to keep pace with the reigning Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights. In a 4-1 loss to Las Vegas, Washington dropped to 12-7-2 on the season and 0-5-1 all-time when playing the Golden Knights in Vegas during the regular season.
Tom Wilson picked up where he left off with his hat trick against the Anaheim Ducks, scoring the Capitals’ only goal with just over three minutes remaining in the 3rd period. Wilson now has four goals in two games outside of Wilson’s lone goal, the home Golden Knights took center stage and showed why they lead the NHL in points.
Head coach Spencer Carbery addressed the media the day after the
loss, saying “We just lost momentum and weren’t able to recover it essentially.”
“When you go up against good teams that are Stanley Cup contending teams… it shows you we want to be in that conversation. We want to be one of those teams.”
Head coach Spencer Carbery reflects on Saturday’s game before the team hits the ice again on Monday in Tempe.#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/mY0ugsO5GK
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 3, 2023
Momentum indeed stayed with Vegas from start to finish in this matchup. Look no further than the 29-9 shot deficit the Capitals found themselves in by the second intermission, as Vegas went on to outshoot in the game 36-22.
Carbery said, “If you’re not able to slow the game down when you’ve lost momentum, and have an offensive zone shift and be able to stall a puck, it’s just that you’re constantly facing it. And that’s what it felt like in the second period, and then you start to take some penalties, we make some bad reads, and next thing you know, the game is 2-0.”
Hunter Shepard's had himself A Day just to back up Darcy Kuemper.
– He left the Bears and took a cross-country flight from Charlotte
– He arrived in Vegas minutes before the Caps-Golden Knights game
– He didn't get to the bench until well after puck drop https://t.co/5NR0pKFPSR— RMNB (@rmnb) December 3, 2023
Between the pipes for the Capitals, Darcy Kuemper made the late start in place of a sick Charlie Lindgren. Hunter Shephard caught a late flight to Vegas to back up in case he was needed, reportedly showing up just minutes before the puck dropped in Las Vegas.
Evgeny Kuznetsov will be a healthy scratch for the Caps tonight in Arizona. Spencer Carbery called it a “mental reset” for Kuznetsov.
— Bailey Johnson (@BaileyAJohnson_) December 4, 2023
Another notable item to keep an eye on going forward is the involvement of Evgeny Kuznetsov. After playing a season-low in time on ice against Vegas, via a report from the Washington Post’s Bailey Johnson, Spencer Carbery announced that the former 2010 first-round pick is a healthy scratch against the Arizona Coyotes. His involvement and role going forward are worth monitoring.
Alex Ovechkin remains just one assist away from 1,500 on his career and will look to do so as the Capitals wrap up their longest road trip of the season against Arizona.