Reirden erupts as Caps lose

Coach frustrated by team’s overall poor performance

DEVILS 5, CAPITALS 1

WASHINGTON — Washington Capitals coach Todd Reirden saw just about enough Saturday night at Capital One Arena. Standing behind the bench as his team faced a three-goal deficit with a hoard of disgruntled fans vocalizing their displeasure, Reirden ripped into his players as he pointed up toward the scoreboard.

Facing a substandard New Jersey Devils, the Capitals found themselves in a second-period hole too big to overcome en route to a 5-1 loss. Dropping their second straight game, Washington is now 30-11-5 as the Devils improve to 16-21-7.

The Capitals’ best chance for late heroics came midway through the third period with 43 seconds of 5-on-3 time, but the team couldn’t muster a shot on goal and only had one total on the overlapping power play chances. Miles Wood scored an empty netter for the Devils’ final tally with 4:56 left.

Reirden’s second period tirade during a Capitals timeout was sparked by Nico Hischier’s second goal of the night — a one-timer that ripped past goaltender Braden Holtby’s right shoulder at 12:11. The goal gave the Devils a 4-1 lead, less than three minutes after Jakub Vrana scored the Capitals’ lone goal of the night.

Trailing 3-0, the Capitals made a feeble attempt to start their failed comeback at 8:28 of the second period with Vrana’s first power play goal of the season. Taking advantage of chaos in front of the net, Vrana found the loose puck off the initial shot from Nicklas Backstrom and scored from outside the left post. Picking up his 20th goal of the season, Vrana has reached that mark for the second-straight season.

Vrana’s goal briefly salvaged what was a troubling four-minute Capitals power play opportunity. After Wood was called for hi-sticking Richard Panik at 6:17 of the second period, Wood was assessed a double minor. Panik headed to the room for repairs and did not take another shift.

And while the Capitals had an extraman advantage, it was the Devils who scored shorthanded, with Blake Coleman cashing in on a 3-on-1 rush at 6:48 to put New Jersey up 3-0.

Washington has now allowed six shorthanded goals this season, which is tied for second in the league. The Capitals have given up two shorthanded tallies in their last two games, with the other being the eventual game-winner Wednesday by Kevin Hayes in Philadelphia.

Washington went 0-for-5 on the power play against the Flyers, sparking a change for the team’s power play unit that was first showcased Saturday against New Jersey.

The Capitals entered the contest against the Devils ranked 30th in the NHL on the power play at 13.7 percent since Dec. 1. To try and give the suddenly woeful power play a spark, the team decided to put Vrana on the team’s first power play unit in place of Evgeny Kuznetsov.

With the tweak, the first power play unit was able to get three shots on goal on its first attempt at 16:30 of the first period but was unable to convert until Vrana’s goal in the second period. The group finished Saturday 1-of-5 on the power play.

And while the power play continues to be a work in progress, Washington continued to struggle in the first period. The Capitals have now yielded the game’s first goal in eight of their last nine outings and 12 of their last 15.

Hischier scored the early tally for the Devils at 5:27 after he had a 2-on-1 chance against Holtby. Nick Jensen had stepped up in the neutral zone to cut off the puck on the wall, but it got past him. Hischier, who was behind him, was able to spark the odd-man rush and take it to the net himself for the tally.

It has been a troubling trend, and one Lars Eller has spoke at length about over the last couple months.

To Eller, the team has continued to let their opponent dictate the pace of the game from the get-go, which leaves the Capitals chasing. Sometimes, Washington’s pure talent can withstand an early push, but as of late, the trend has put them in holes too deep to overcome.

The Devils took advantage, increasing their lead to 2-0 at 3:28 of the second period after Nikita Gusev scored on the rebound only seven seconds after New Jersey’s power play expired. Holtby had just made a blocker save on Will Butcher’s shot from the right circle, before Gusev swopped in to convert the rebound on Holtby’s right side.