The Capitals’ once-reliable offense is sputtering against the Islanders

In the weeks leading up to the NHL’s restart, that firepower had many feeling bullish about the Capitals’ chances. The roster offered plenty of reason for optimism, starting with Alex Ovechkin and continuing with Evgeny Kuznetsov, Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie, Jakub Vrana, Tom Wilson, even defenseman John Carlson. Not to mention longtime sniper Ilya Kovalchuk, who joined the team ahead of the trade deadline. On paper, this is a team that has the weapons to dominate.

“We’ve shown it in the beginning of the games,” Washington Coach Todd Reirden said. “[Friday] again, just look at the first few shifts and we’ve put pucks behind their defense, we get in on the forecheck, we hang on to pucks and we’re able to get the results we need to. We have to consistently do that for 60 minutes and then we’re going to get contributions from everybody, but that has to happen more often.”

Only two Washington players have scored in the first two games of the series: Ovechkin and Oshie, who each have two goals. Meanwhile, the Islanders have had eight scorers on nine goals. The Capitals’ depth, which had been lauded during the season for production and grit, has not been a factor.

Washington faces the Islanders again for Game 3 at noon Sunday.

“We need more players like [Ovechkin] that are playing to the top of their level,” Reirden said of Ovechkin’s two-goal performance Friday after the Capitals’ loss.

On Friday night, Washington was without Backstrom, who is in the NHL’s concussion protocol after taking a late hit from Islanders captain Anders Lee in Game 1. But the Capitals still have a handful of other weapons at their disposal.

Kuznetsov led the team with 32 points in 24 postseason games during its 2018 Stanley Cup run.

Through the two games against the Islanders this postseason, Kuznetsov has skated 47:05, an average of 23:33 minutes of ice time. He has eight shots on goal, with six coming in Game 1. He has tallied one point in two games — a primary assist to Oshie on his first power play goal in Game 1. Reirden praised Kuznetsov’s skating and focus during the round-robin games, with his skill and prowess noticeable on the ice, but that has only shown up in spurts.

Vrana has no points in two games this series and has skated 26:28. On Friday, he was benched for much of the second period. Vrana’s last shift of the second period was at 6:54, after his turnover resulted in Brock Nelson’s breakaway, which led to the game-winning goal. Vrana returned to his normal second line spot to start the third period.

Last year, the speedy, smooth-skating winger had zero points in seven postseason games against the Hurricanes after setting career highs in goals (24) and assists (23) in the regular season. Nearly everything was clicking for Vrana through 82 games, but the playoffs are a different animal.

“I was really down on myself,” Vrana said in October.

But Kuznetsov and Vrana aren’t the only ones who can fix the Capitals’ woes. Washington’s third line of Carl Hagelin, Travis Boyd and Kovalchuk combined for zero shots on goal in Game 1. During Game 2, Boyd only played 6:38 and had two shots on goal, while Kovalchuk played 8:16 and had none. Hagelin played 11:36 and also had no shots on goal.

“We’ve been more frustrating to ourselves, taking unnecessary penalties, or making mistakes out there that you shouldn’t make,” Hagelin said. “We know they are going to be close games. You see we’ve only scored, what is it, four goals so far? Sometimes that is all it takes in the playoffs if you are playing smart enough defensively, but we haven’t done that, either.”

So, how do the Capitals fix their offensive woes?

Hagelin said the team needs to start moving the puck a little quicker.

“It sounds pretty simple, but that is how it is,” he said. “We got to make sure we are winning some draws in the [offensive] zone and get sustained pressure. It has got to start with that, holding on to pucks in the o-zone and feeling comfortable being in the o-zone.”