The Washington Capitals find themselves in a tough spot as the 2025-26 NHL season hits its midpoint. After finishing with the best record in the Eastern Conference just last year, expectations were understandably high. But through 48 games, the Caps sit at 24-18-6-good for a middle-of-the-pack record that currently leaves them outside the playoff picture.
Thursday night’s 3-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks at Capital One Arena only added to the frustration. It was Washington’s fifth defeat in their last seven games dating back to New Year’s Day, and another missed opportunity to gain traction in a hyper-competitive wild card race.
Head coach Spencer Carbery didn’t sugarcoat things after the game.
“By this time, we’re almost at Game 50, so to say it’s concerning that we can’t get any traction... it’s concerning,” he said. And he’s not wrong.
The Capitals haven’t strung together back-to-back wins since a six-game heater that wrapped up in late November. Since then, it’s been a grind-one step forward, two steps back.
The issues are cropping up on both ends of the ice. Defensive lapses, costly turnovers, and a lack of sustained offensive pressure have kept the team from finding any real rhythm.
Against San Jose, it all unraveled in a flash. The Sharks scored three goals in just under three minutes during the second period, flipping a tight game on its head.
The second of those goals came off a turnover from Dylan Strome, who had the puck stripped by Pavol Regenda before Collin Graf buried the chance. Strome owned up to the mistake afterward.
“Obviously, we make some turnovers,” he said. “I make a bad play trying to find the open ice and they capitalize... the whole period we were hemmed in.”
To his credit, Strome did get on the board with a power-play goal-his fifth tally and 13th point over his last 14 games. He cleaned up an Alex Ovechkin rebound in front of the net, giving the Caps a spark at the time. But that momentum didn’t last long.
Goaltender Logan Thompson, who’s had stretches of stellar play this season, made 23 saves on the night. But like the rest of the team, he’s struggled to find consistency.
For a Capitals squad that’s trying to claw its way into a playoff spot, they’ll need more than flashes. They need full games-and full weeks-of locked-in hockey.
The Eastern Conference wild card race is a logjam. Six teams are within three points of each other, and with just 34 games left on the schedule, every point is going to carry weight.
There’s no more room for “off nights” or “we’ll get ’em next times.” The urgency has to be there now.
The road ahead doesn’t get any easier. Washington wraps up a three-game homestand Saturday night against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
After that? A six-game road trip that starts in Denver against the league-leading Colorado Avalanche and winds through Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Seattle, and Detroit.
If the Capitals are going to make a push, this stretch will define it. The roster is still largely intact from last season’s success, but the results haven’t followed. The clock is ticking, and the margin for error is shrinking fast.