Three of the Capitals’ best five offensive players are still out with minor injuries. That’s the good news. The bad news is that, after being absolutely destroyed by the Carolina Hurricanes last night, the Caps are tied with the Atlanta Thrashers for the worst record in the East at 5-9-0.

Last night’s loss would have been easier to explain if the Caps were missing ten, or maybe twenty of their best players. Two Hurricanes scored the five goals. Goaltender Cam Ward shut out the Capitals for the third time in his career. Ward has three shutouts in his career. Cory Stillman scored three straight goals in the first period. For an idea of how impressive this is, google Cory Stillman. Google suggests you search for “Cory Stillman injury.”

The few healthy Capitals stars were neutralized by a team that usually isn’t that good. Michael Nylander, finally paired with Ovechkin, couldn’t hold the puck in the offensive zone. Olaf Kolzig didn’t even move toward Carolina’s five goals before Brent Johnson replaced him and showed some effort. Alexander Ovechkin, who recently hit Chris Clark in the head with a careless slap shot (giving the team captain his ear injury), hit teammate Matt Pettinger in the head with a careless slap shot.

There are still three positive things to say about the Capitals today. First, they’ve signed second round draft pick Josh Godfrey, which will give their power play more depth in a few years. Second, the Edmonton Oilers have a worse record than them, at 5-10-0. Third and last, fans can be assured that we will not see them lose tonight because this one will not be televised.