The Capitals entered Wednesday's game against the Anaheim Ducks with plenty of fire and jumped on the Ducks early. But when it mattered most, the Caps couldn't score. Ryan Getzlaf scored in overtime to give the visitors a 2-1 victory and the Capitals their seventh straight loss.
Brooks Laich got the Capitals on the scoreboard first at 14:22 of the first period when he fired a backhand top shelf over Jonas Hiller's shoulder. Nicklas Backstrom cycled behind the net and found John Carlson for a wrist shot. Hiller stopped Carlson's blast, but left a rebound for Laich to pounce on. Laich almost scored again, beating Hiller with a shot from the slot, but Getzlaf swiped it away just inches before it crossed the goal line to keep the game at 1-0.
The start of the second period found the Capitals with several scoring chances, but none would go in. First, Alex Ovechkin found himself alone on a breakaway, but hit the crossbar above Hiller's catching glove. Shortly after, Mike Green, Mike Knuble and Backstrom had a 3-on-1 opportunity. Green would pass to Knuble, who crossed to Backstrom. Backstrom had an open net, but Hiller, who made 31 saves, got his stick over just enough to stop Backstrom's shot.
"Alex [Ovechkin] had a breakaway [that] hit the cross bar, Nick hit both posts on a three-on-one," Knuble said. "He did everything 99% right he just hit both posts and hit the goalie in the rear. Nine times out of ten that'll go in. We did a lot of good things. It's going to take some small steps here to move forward. Again, it's not a win. All the sudden wins have become very elusive and for this group ...it's a different feeling for sure."
Anaheim, however, was able to tie the game at 12:47 when Joffrey Lupul scored on the power play. Lupul, already not beloved by Caps fan for ending their playoff run three years ago, pushed a rebound past Semyon Varlamov after Cam Fowler's initial slap shot.
The third period saw both teams trade chances, but in overtime, Getzlaf found himself open enough on the left faceoff circle to fire a shot past Varlamov to end the game with 57 seconds left in the extra frame.
Despite outshooting Anaheim 32-24, Washington has now scored one goal or less in five of their last seven games.
"When they're not going in, they're not going in," Laich said. "But I thought our team did a great job without the puck and if we play like that, we are going to get rewarded for it. I thought the game plan the coaches set for us was done very well."