CHICAGO | That exhaling sound you heard came from the Washington Capitals, en route to Detroit after a humbling 5-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, when the Winnipeg Jets score went final.
A 4-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, clinched by a late goal from Chad LaRose, keeps the Jets two points back of the Caps for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
It was a huge missed opportunity for Winnipeg, who should have heeded the advice of Troy Brouwer after the Caps’ loss Sunday night.
“There’s a lot of situations going down the season where you’ve got to come into a game and and you need to have a good effort and you have to find ways to get points,” Brouwer said.
Falling so flat against the Blackhawks doesn’t leave a good taste for the Caps, even with the Jets choking away at least a point to Carolina. Monday’s game at the Red Wings is a quick chance to salvage something and take advantage of the Hurricanes’ comeback win.
“We just need to get back to what we were doing,” defenseman Karl Alzner said. “We still had way too many turnovers in the neutral zone, those simple ones that we talk about. We were so happy that were gone for a few games. We’re getting back to it again.”
On the negative side, the Florida Panthers still lead the Southeast Division by five points. Oh, and the Hurricanes are quietly five points back of the Caps for eighth place.
