Vincent Lecavalier’s game-winning goal was slightly controversial, but the Caps blamed noone but themselves for the 3-2 loss last night. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)
It’s not the kind of words you’d expect to hear from a team that’s clinched its division a whole month before the end of the regular season, but Capitals winger Mike Knuble thinks the team needs to play with more urgency — and be stronger collectively.
“I think we just thought it was going to be easier than it was tonight,” Knuble said after the Caps lost 3-2 to Tampa Bay on Friday.
Head coach Bruce Boudreau was a step past displeased.
“We didn’t do the job as forwards and defensemen,” Boudreau said. “We got [no goals] five on five, which has been a strength of ours all year. When you get none five on five, the telltale sign isn’t luck, isn’t anything — you got outworked. And there’s no excuse.”
Tomas Fleischmann was the first guy to get on the board for either team, scoring with help from Alex Ovechkin and Knuble in the first. Tampa answered with the equalizing goal in the first period and two in the second, though that final goal spent time under review since it hit Vincent Lecavalier’s upper body before going in. (The referee eventually ruled that the player was defending himself, and replays clearly showed Lecavalier writhing to get out of the puck’s way.)
Brooks Laich gave life to the Caps faithful in the third period with a power play goal, but that was the last time the Caps would find the net despite out-shooting Tampa 30 to 27. Knuble admitted that he wasn’t surprised by the low score, although the Caps had only been held to two or fewer goals once in the past 26 games before last night. The gritty forward knows several teams are in a desperate push to reach the playoffs and will be playing harder.
“After the break, it gets a little bit more difficult to score a lot of goals,” Knuble said.
