The Capitals had a chance to move into a tie for first place in the Eastern Conference, but instead submitted a pretty poor effort in Toronto. Colin Greenberg and Erik Kondra scored as the Ottawa Senators topped the Capitals 2-0 on the road.
Semyon Varlamov, who got the start at the last minute when Michal Neuvirth got sick, looked shaky in the loss, letting two of 23 shot attempts get past him, and the Capitals' offense could not score on 31 shot attempts.
The Capitals surrendered the second goal in the third period. Karl Alzner failed to clear the puck out of Washington's zone and the attempted clearance was grabbed by Ottawa's Milan Michalek, who hit a nice back-hand pass to Erik Kondra. The American pumped a low shot past Varlamov for his fifth goal of the season.
The Capitals next face Montreal on the road on Saturday night, and will need a better effort than they showed on Friday.