The Washington Capitals’ latest loss was the kind that leaves both encouragement and concern in the same breath.
Down 4-0 before the second period was barely underway, the Caps stormed back with five goals of their own, but Dallas still walked out with a 6-4 win last night. Logan Thompson was pulled after the first four Stars goals, and Jason Robertson did the heavy damage with a natural hat trick, scoring three straight to push Dallas ahead 4-0 just a little more than five minutes into the second period.
Washington didn’t fold. That much was clear.
The Caps kept pushing until the final horn and nearly dragged themselves all the way back into it. But the result also fit a pattern that has started to show up too often.
The biggest issue is what’s happening on the other side of the puck. Washington is allowing 3.43 goals per game, a number that puts the club 25th in the league.
Even with Dallas held to just 22 shots, six still found their way behind Capitals goaltenders. That’s been the story too many times this season.
Head coach Spencer Carbery said, “we did exactly what we wanted to do. Even when they score first, I think we're still fine. And then it just gets away from us a little bit with some of the bounces.”
The offense has been good enough to keep Washington afloat, but not quite good enough to erase the damage every night. The Capitals are scoring 3.50 goals per game, which ranks 16th in the NHL.
They’ve already picked up five come-from-behind wins, matching their total from the entire 2025-26 season, so there’s no question this group keeps fighting once it gets punched in the mouth. The problem is that it keeps having to punch back.
That’s where the next step has to come from players like Alex Ovechkin, Aliaksei Protas, and Ilya Protas. If that group starts heating up, the scoring pace can rise with it. And with the Capitals only two standings points out of the wild card chase and three games in hand, there’s still room to make the picture look a lot better.
Thompson’s night ended after Robertson’s third goal at 5:34 of the second period. After finishing fourth in Vezina Trophy voting last year, Thompson now has a 3.22 goals-against average and a .877 save percentage in 10 games, well below his 2.44 GAA and .912 save percentage from last season.
Still, this isn’t on him alone. The play has been uneven across the board, even if the Capitals remain above .500.
There was at least one encouraging sign in the loss: Washington converted two of its three power plays. That didn’t change the outcome, but after clawing back from 4-0 and nearly tying the game in the third period, it’s the kind of night that can give that unit some confidence moving forward.