Sitting at 3-3, Caps looking for consistency from period to period originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
WASHINGTON — The Capitals are off to a 3-3 start to this season, and things could have been a lot worse. After erasing a 2-0 deficit to beat the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, the Capitals have engineered two multi-goal comebacks in the last week to push their record up to .500 rather than let it slip to an ugly 1-5.
Both unlikely victories were the result of strong third periods. On Saturday, Washington scored four goals on 17 shots after going scoreless with 15 attempts on goal over the first 40 minutes. In Monday’s victory over the Vancouver Canucks, the Capitals fired off four unanswered goals in the third despite a dreadful second period that saw the Canucks score three times.
In each of those third periods, the Capitals showed the kind of team they can be when playing their style of hockey. Moving forward, they want to see that kind of play extend across an entire contest.
“We have to be better,” defenseman Dmitry Orlov said following Saturday’s game. “I think we have to play a full 60 minutes or at least try it, especially after bad game in Ottawa. First two periods, we [were] outplayed and I think today was a good start. In the second period, we give up a couple goals and in the third we were good and make some plays when we need to and when not we just get deep.”
As Orlov mentioned, Thursday’s game against the Ottawa Senators saw the reverse effect of the Capitals not playing a complete game. Washington jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period but looked like a different team from there on out, losing puck battles and playing on their heels more often than pressing the attack.
Even with their inconsistent play, the Capitals are 3-3 with six points toward the standings in what’s shaping up to be a tough Metropolitan Division race. Their next game, scheduled for Monday, will pit them against one of those divisional foes looking to make a playoff push this season in the New Jersey Devils.
The Capitals know what kind of style they want to play.
“Usually [the players] or I, or we both together have a good idea when we don’t play well,” head coach Peter Laviolette said in his postgame press conference. “It didn’t feel like it was 2-0 and so we just stayed with it. We tried to press a little bit more. We tried to be stronger on the forecheck. The big thing was putting more pucks to the net, trying to generate more chances, whether it be the first chance or the second chance, third chance.
“There was definitely room for improvement after two periods and I thought we did that. That was a big third period to come back from 2-0 going into the third.”
For the Capitals to compete for a playoff spot this season, playing a consistent game from period to period will be crucial. Having the experience to pull off comeback wins certainly doesn’t hurt, but they’ve seen the type of team they are when things are clicking and they want to be that team more consistently.
